Heather Rubenstein

Back to All Education, Mathematics Spotlights

I am currently in my fifth year as a math teacher at Woodstock Union High School in Woodstock, Vermont. To date I have taught, Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Intermediate Algebra, Algebra II, Geometry and Math for Life. I have a wonderful job due to the students I teach. The best part of my job is getting students who hate math and sending them into the summer loving math. It is my goal to do that with every student.

I have been coaching the varsity softball team for four years and middle school field hockey for three years. I have been the treasurer for our local teacher’s union for three years. I am currently a co-advisor to class of 2011 at Woodstock Union High School. I am the co-director of a local teen center that operates every Friday and Saturday night.

I was awarded the 2008 UVM Outstanding Teacher Award given to teacher’s in every district in Vermont. I also received an award from the Vermont Council of Teachers of Mathematics for excellence in teaching math. I am almost done with a Master’s of Science in Educational Administration from the University of Scranton.

I got my love of mathematics from my professors at St. Mike’s. They were inspirational in how they loved math. It was apparent in every class and the amount of time they put into students outside of class. I am a better teacher because I had such great models at St. Mike’s. The math program at St. Mike’s gave me an in-depth look into math that I thought I would never use because the highest math level at Woodstock Union High School is Calculus. But I am amazed over and over again at the theory and specific explanation I can give my students because I had such a good math education at St. Mike’s. I love explaining to my students that there is another type of geometry where parallel lines don’t exist and we have a good class discussion about everything involved and how that would change the way we see the world. It is also great to explain to my students topics like the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra and a bunch of other theorems and other postulates that allow my students to dive deeper into math.