On Oct. 23 at Manitou Springs High School, Tiffany Selz was hired in place of past substitute math teachers, Erich Hoffman and Jon Murphy, because the position wasn’t filled.
Selz has been teaching math classes for 8 years: she previously taught in Texas and later at Fountain Middle School. Now at MSHS, she teaches Career and Consumer Math, Pre-algebra and Geometry.
Selz discovered her interest in math very early in her life. “Probably from about third grade,” Selz said. “I started saying I wanted to be a teacher really early.”
She enjoyed that there was always a right and wrong answer in math. “I just have always liked math because there was no right and wrong way to go about things, and it was like a puzzle,” Selz said.
Selz was inspired by her third grade teacher, who taught her the importance of teaching. “I come from a family that didn’t value education, and I kind of found my place at school and it started with my third grade teacher,” Selz said. “She just really encouraged us to reach our potential on different things especially like our math facts, and I was able to do that and feel comfortable.”
She felt the personal impact of a supportive teacher and has wanted to support someone else in that way since. “She was a huge support when I was going through some family stuff, and it just continued,” Selz said. “I found those figures throughout that I could lean on for support, and that’s kind of why I wanted to be that for someone else.”
Selz kept in touch with that teacher until she passed away in 2009. Now she strives to provide her students with the same support she was given in their times of need. “She did pass away when I was a freshman in college,” Selz said. “If I could tell her where I’m at today, I would just tell her about how she inspired me to push my students but to still be a support system for them.”
Selz is currently in a master’s program for math education, so that she is able to teach dual credit classes or classes at a community college level. Her personal teaching goal for this year is to continue that process. “Just learning new techniques and new methods to become a better teacher,” Selz said
Ezra Gervais(10) is a geometry student who feels that Ms. Selz has supported him personally by donating her personal time to his education. “Ms. Selz is a really nice teacher, who prioritizes our learning and will use her own time to help us,” Gervais said. “She has helped me by letting me come in during her planning period and letting me do test corrections which helped me understand the topic better.”
Elizabeth Lee is a math teacher at MSHS who has recently cooperated with Ms. Selz to discuss the common curriculum. “We give common assessments and compare data, discuss things that worked well for our students and what didn’t in order to get ideas from each other,” Lee said.
Lee admires Selz’s ability to give time to her students. “She cares deeply that her students gain a good understanding of high school math and seems to have students in her room at lunch almost every day,” Lee said.
Lee is impressed with Selz’s determination and ability to overcome a challenge. “Ms. Selz is not afraid of a challenge,” Lee said. “ It is incredibly challenging to jump into a new school part way through a quarter. Ms. Selz is dedicated and fearless.”
