Interview with Damitra Newsome

Damitra Newsome graduated from Towson University in 2008 with a degree in mathematics secondary education. Mrs. Newsome is a teacher and the mathematics department chair at Overlea High School in the Baltimore County Public Schools.

These are her reflections. Mrs. Newsom, thank you so much for taking the time to come and share your story with us about your teacher preparation at Towson University and your subsequent career.

I think this will add immeasurably to our understanding of the evolution of teacher education across time. And I guess the best place to begin is at the beginning. So if you would, would you share with us kind of your

early social context where, where you grew up, what you were thinking about in terms of life after high school, that sort of thing? OK. Thank you, first of all, for inviting me for the interview.

I grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland and attended public schools kindergarten through twelfth grade, and I think it was in second grade when I started to realize that I really enjoyed teaching. I loved school, didn't want to miss a day, and I expressed to my mom that I really

loved teaching. I would line up all of her lotion and perfume bottles on our dresser and I would pretend, you know, lecture to them or teach them little lessons.

And then also in second grade, I met my second grade math teacher, Miss Young, and I really enjoyed... She made me love math. And she taught us multiplication facts, but she did it with karate.

So when we learned our first times tables we got a white belt and our second times tables we got a yellow belt all the way until we mastered them all and we got our black belt in multiplication facts. And I think that along with other experiences really made me enjoy math.

And from that point on I said, I love math. I want to teach math. So you were in high school, getting ready to think about post high school, already knew you wanted to be a teacher?

Yes. OK. And what were you looking for in the place you wanted to get that training?

Well, I was looking for schools that had, you know, really specialized in education. And the really interesting thing is I did not know of Towson. I had never heard of Towson University until I received a mailing, I think the summer before my senior year.

And I said, oh, wow, Towson University. I, you know, go online and I'm doing some more research. And I said, oh, it specializes in education.

It used to be a teachers' college, that this is the perfect place for me to go. And it's not too far from home. I didn't want to be too far away, but it's still about an hour away from my

family. So I said, this would be perfect. So I applied immediately and they actually sent someone from Office of Admissions to my high school in October of my senior year.

And yes, and I had all of my paperwork done. I had... My counselor filled out everything. The only thing I needed was my transcript. So I walked over to guidance with the admissions person.

They got my transcript and looked over it said, you're in, you're accepted. Wow. I was like, yes, I'm going to Towson. And that was in October of your senior year? And that was in October.

Well, how wonderful. Yes. So, to have that taken care of so you could enjoy your senior year. And so you lived on campus?

I lived on campus and I lived in the Glen Towers for two years with actually some of my classmates from high school. So there were about ten of us who all came from my high school. Wonderful.

So we were able to kind of stick together. And then my last two years, I stayed in Millennium Hall with the same group of friends. So we stuck together.

And, actually, two of them are also education majors and we were all roommates. Very nice. Do you remember...

Tell us a little bit about your courses for preparation for a teacher. What do you remember about those? Were those theoretical in nature or more practical or maybe a combination of both? I remember them being a lot more practical, hands-on, you know,

just really jumping right in and getting into lesson planning, lesson delivery. For example, I took Dr. Molly Mee's course and I think it was for secondary teachers. And the very first day she asked me and another young man who were both math

education, she asked us to teach the class on the first day. Oh, my heavens. And she gave us about ten or fifteen minutes. We went and put this mini math lesson together and we taught it on the first

day. And I mean, from there we had a discussion about, you know, what we did and, you know, just moving forward. So, really, just hands-on from day one, really working together.

I felt like we were a family, especially when we got to interning and everything. With your cohort, you really were a family, sticking together and helping each other through every single step of the process.

And so I think they were definitely more practical. One class that I thought was more theoretical was the Foundations of Education class and I took with Doctor Vocke. But I appreciated that class so much.

Just knowing the beginning stages of this whole institution called school, how it came about, why it exists. And that just gave me a better appreciation for teaching and the profession I was going into.

So I thought that was an invaluable class to take and to require us to take because I think that's something you really need to know, you know. Sort of your place in the history of that.... Yes, yes. ...that field.

Did you get to go to schools before you actually got into your internship student teaching experience? Yes, we got to go to, I think we went to Dumbarton Middle School and a couple of other schools to observe the teachers and really

focusing on the interactions between the students and teachers. So not solely instruction, because it's not like we were... I mean, because I was math, I would get the opportunity to go into a math classroom.

But a lot of times we were just going into any classroom in general just to observe, what are the teachers doing? What are the students doing? How do they interact and to, you know, jot down some things,

see what we can take from those teachers and discuss once we get back to class. So we got to go in early just to get a glimpse of, this is what we're preparing for, this is what we're getting into. Are you ready?

Good question. So, your senior year, tell us about that in terms of when you were in schools and when you actually got, at what point you got to be the teacher of this class.

Well, for the the first half of senior year, we were more so, I mean, we got to teach here and there, but we were more so in that observing role. Again, just making sure we saw what the teachers

and students were doing, got an idea of the flow of the classroom, the flow of the school. So we will be prepared once we went back in the spring. So in the fall, we weren't as much into teaching,

but we did some lessons here and there, did some unit planning here and there with those teachers. But when we got back in the spring, it was first day there. You're taking over this class.

Really? Wow. So a lot of my mentor teachers I met with, you know, when we talked with them in the fall, exchanged emails and everything.

So by the time we got back in the spring, here's where the students are going to be, you know, be prepared to day one. You can you can pick up with it. And literally from the day you're there to the day we left,

it was taking over every single class. And my experience in the middle school, I actually did take over all of the teacher's classes and she was an advisor for National Junior Honor Society. So I was able to help her with their induction ceremony and she actually asked

me to speak at their induction ceremony. So that was really, really nice. Special. Yes. So I enjoyed doing that and getting those other opportunities outside of the

classroom to interact with the students, even going on a field trip to the Maryland Science Center. So just seeing all the different ways you engage with the students, not just in the classroom, but even doing, you know,

outside things was, I think, really, really nice that my mentor teacher allowed me to even do that. Indeed. Now, did you interact with parents at all?

Yes. Yes. We went to all of the parent-teacher conferences, either sat in on them or, when we took over teaching,

we were meeting with the parents because we were the teacher at that time and assigning the grades and everything. So face-to-face communication, phone calls, emails, it was all us, that we were doing.

And our mentor teacher was there to kind of provide that support for us and, you know, reassure the parents everything OK, they're doing, they're doing fine, you know, so... And how long were you... How many weeks were you in a middle

school setting? So I would say maybe eight. It was half and half. So half the semester was in the middle school and then we ended at the high

school. So I was at Owings Mills High School for the second half. And that mentor teacher taught all of the upper level math classes. So that was pretty challenging.

I didn't take over all of his classes because he taught AP Statistics and so I didn't teach that class at all. And of course they were getting prepared for a AP exam at the end. So that was the only class I didn't teach.

But the honors calculus and the trig with analytic geometry and I stayed up hours studying before I even created a lesson just to make sure because I... I definitely felt prepared. I mean, I took a lot, a lot of math courses,

but just knowing it to the extent that you can teach someone else. I was spending more hours than I did at the middle school, definitely just making sure I had a grasp of the material before I even created a less sure to go teach.

So that was a challenge. But you know, I got a lot of support from my mentor teacher. Well, and you certainly got a lot of experience,

and how nice to have sort of this supervised experience. Yes. I'm sorry, can you adjust your mic? Sure.

Oh. Just going to tuck this cable under your sweater if I can. Oh, I get what you're saying. I'm touching it.

When you're hitting the cable, it makes noises. OK, that shouldn't do it anymore. OK, great. This is...

Hey, we do this all the time. So tell us a little bit about this student teaching experience at the high school level. So at the high school, it was a lot different than the middle

school, of course, because we were closer in age to the high school. Yes, absolutely. So, you know, stepping foot into the door, they think you're a student first until,

you know, the mentor teacher introduces you. So it's kind of just making sure you establish that rapport with them and then a level of respect early on so they know, I know I look like I'm the same age as you,

I know I look like a student, but, you know, I'm really your teacher at this point. And there has to be, you know, respect there. And I don't think it was anything we had to command, really,

but it was just kind of your presence, your professional attire and attitude and just making sure you were well prepared because they know when you're not. And, you know, just making sure of those things. And even, I don't know, taking a step back sometimes and letting

them know, you know, who you are. Just a little bit about yourself. I remember talking to one of my classes about the fact that I was on the step team here at Towson and they wanted me to do a step for them.

So I think at the very last five minutes of class, I'm in the front of class doing a step routine to show them. But those kind of things help them connect with us. And I think that's why, for example, at Owings Mills,

they ended up featuring the interns in their newsletter, in their newspaper that they published. And they also had us on their morning announcements. So they asked us to do the announcements one morning and get over that television.

So I think that means that you were well received and that they thought highly of you. Yeah, absolutely. So you're getting towards the end of that student teaching

semester, and how are you feeling about things? Are you feeling fairly confident about your choice and your preparedness to take this on? Yes, I felt really, really prepared.

And I mean, to top it off, when we had our, I guess that interview day where all of us gathered at, I guess it was the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Timonium. And all the different counties in Maryland

were represented. And we brought our resume and just ready to interview wherever we could. And I think I probably did maybe four or five interviews that day, but I met with one lady who was a principal in

an alternative school in Baltimore County. And she knew the principal at my current school. And she said, I think you're going to want this candidate, look at her.

And actually one thing that stood out was the fact that I was on the step team too. And I think that's something that they wanted. And so I got a call from that principal. And when did you get the call? I think that was in April.

Really? So around April, I had a job. Wow. I was really excited to have a plan in place and I immediately started getting things together so I can have a place to

live, stay up here. And yeah, it worked out very quickly actually. It did. And I know that some people who are well-

qualified are waiting until August before they hear anything. And so sometimes they have no more than a week to prepare. So how wonderful that you knew. And to be able to go to the school and meet other teachers even, you know,

before that last school year was out, that was really good. So did you already have a sense of what you'd be teaching in the fall? I was, I guess, sort of prepared that I would be teaching probably algebra 1 and algebra 2.

Our professors here, you know, in math education, they kind of told us that's where we would be initially. That's usually where they start you and then you kind of grow and, you know, show what you're able to do those first year or two and then they might move you

to other classes. So I was prepared to teach, I mean, I knew I would be probably teaching algebra 1 and algebra 2 and that's what I taught the first year. Just the first year.

And your school, where did you go? Overlea high school is where I ended up accepting a position. It's a smaller school. I think about 900.

So it's smaller than what I'm used to. My high school had, I think, over 2,000 students. Wow, quite a difference then. Yeah.

So it was a lot smaller. It's different. It was different from Perry Hall Middle and Owings Mills High School demographically and just a different group of students,

but so enjoyable. I mean, if there's anything that I like about Overlea High School, it's really the kids. They stand out to me.

And I've worked with other students from other high schools at Upward Bound over the summer and I just really enjoy our students at Overlea high School. You know, they're excited, they want to learn, and I enjoy working with them.

So tell us about your first year. So the first year was pretty challenging. I would say what really hit me the first year was all of the paperwork. So I was A-OK with, you know, planning lessons and instruction and

relating with the kids and building rapport and that immediacy. But I think it was all of the paperwork with just documenting a lot of things. That's what I had to... That's what was challenging initially. And even just a matter of now, you know, five years down the line,

I have a file cabinet filled with all kinds of things and I give it to other people. Now, here's... You want, you need something for this lesson.

Here you go. That's wonderful that you share. But at that point, yeah. But at that point, I was building it, you know, I mean, I would gather... I fortunately had a great department where they share and they're open and

help each other. So I was able to pull things that they had. But it's kind of like you're from scratch, you know, building up your repertoire. So that was a challenge that first, yeah, especially that first year.

And then I had one challenging group of ninth graders. So... But we got through that first year. Well, and that's always, that seems to be something that first- year teachers deal with regularly is how

to manage a class. And maybe if you only had one class where that was something that you you had to meet and deal with, that's pretty impressive right there. But yeah, I had one.

It was two groups of ninth graders and another group of, you know, they were, the grades were mixed, but the one group of ninth graders, they actually threw me a birthday party for my birthday. So it was actually really nice because they surprised

me. They had another teacher call me out to a different room and by the time I came back there were balloons and cupcakes and a big card that everybody signed and I didn't even think they remembered,

you know, that my birthday was... So when did that happen? When's your birthday? It's on June 9th, So it's actually at the end of the school year.

And so this was your difficult group. This wasn't a difficult group. This was a different group, but that other group came around.

I actually ended up being the class advisor for that group of ninth graders who just graduated last year. So it was, I think, really amazing to see my first group of students come all the way through high school, from ninth to through twelfth grade.

So it was kind of, you know, surreal. At graduation I got a little teary-eyed because it was the first group I saw go all the way through. And I remember some of those students from that freshman class and I said, wow,

look at them now walking across the stage, and what they're about to do, and you see them mature and become adults and it's amazing. Well, it's an important four years. Absolutely.

Did you find anything in particular that you think worked terribly well, effectively, with classes that just didn't seem to be as in tuned with what you were hoping to do as you wanted? I would say getting a personal relationship with,

building that personal relationship with individual students. So when I was able to not, I guess, talk to the class as a whole, but really meet that one student one-on-one, just letting them know it's not...

I'm not trying to attack you or be mean or anything. I really do care about your well-being and I want to know what's going on and how I can help. And, you know, when it's possible, because that was a

challenge at my school, still is, as far as parent involvement, but when it's possible to really bring the parent in and say, you know, I want to do whatever I can do to help, you know, your child and whatever we can do together. It's a partnership.

We're all in this, you know, trying to make this one thing happen. And I've gotten some good responses from some, most students, not all. You know, there's some who still are going to go their own way.

And you hope that you planted a seed that ten years from now, a light bulb will go off. And, like, I remember Miss Newsome said this or... And you know, it clicks then, but then there's some who it happens during their four years there.

And it could be just that relationship that causes them not to, you know, get involved in a fight or not to do something out of their character because they know you have that relationship with them. And a lot of our students, they will go out of their way to make you

happy. You know they're... I want to do well on this because I want to do this for you, and you're thinking, OK, I appreciate it, but I want you to do it for yourself, but I'll take it.

OK, it's a good place to start. Yes, definitely. So I would say building the relationships with the students is so important. That kind of helped a lot.

It wasn't long before you took on some administrative responsibilities at your school, which happens when people think that you are a likely candidate for that kind of responsibility. I think they identified you and said, hm! So at what point did you actually become

chair of the math department? Last year was my first year. I was actually acting department chair last year. So this is my first year as full-on department chair.

But the chair before me actually said, you know, she said, I can see you as a department chair, you know, and she started to, you know, show me certain things and, you know, start grooming me and showing me things I might need to know to be in that position.

And it just worked out last year that I was able to actually come in in that role. And it could have been a challenging one just because you're going from a group of teachers who, you know, you're all teachers in this department.

And then now one of the teachers is kind of stepping up to lead the department. And that could have been challenging, especially because I was the youngest in the department. But it hasn't at all.

And they are all very supportive. They were all, you know, behind me. And they're, what do you need us to do? We'll do whatever.

Even last year they got me this shirt that said, to a first-class leader from your first department and it had all of their pictures on it. And so that was really nice. They gave that to me the last day of school last year.

So they're really supportive group and I just, I've enjoyed being in the position and I'm glad that it worked out this way. I couldn't have picked it better, but yeah. What made you decide that you would try administration?

I guess it's my desire to help other teachers. I mean, even when I was, you know, just in the classroom, I would always, you know, here's something. Here's from this lesson, you know, just sharing strategies,

even school-wide professional development, you know, can you present about classroom management? Sure. You know, different things like that.

So I felt like this would give me an opportunity to really go hit more teachers and say, Hey, you know, have you tried this? You want to try that? And even them share things with me that

now I can go tell, you know, five other teachers about. And I think it was that part where I really just wanted to help, you know, even the first-year teachers who aren't tenured yet, you know, building them up into so they have, you know,

that repertoire of instructional strategies or just, for some, just the confidence, you know, they have the skill and just need, you know, that booster, that encouragement, you're doing well, you know, keep doing what you're doing.

The kids love you, that kind of thing. And I like to encourage and help. So I get to do that more in this role. Right. Now, one of the things that you also did very quickly was start a master's degree,

and that's in math education as well? Yes. And I started that actually right after I graduated. So I started teaching in fall of 2008 and started my classes in fall of 2008. And I know I remember speaking to an intern at that came to Overlea who was

thinking about doing the same thing. And I said, you know, if I had to do it again, I think I might at least wait a semester, you know, a year even. But I said at least a semester, wait till the spring or something,

because that definitely made the first year that much more challenging because the time commitment, especially those initial years, it's just a great deal of work that, you know, you're trying to get accustomed to a lot of things actually.

And I mentioned the paperwork before. So it's a lot of things you're trying to grow into and then to have classes at the same time that you're, you know, you're trying to do lesson plans, you're trying to do homework.

And it just so happens I had to take... One of the toughest math classes that I had to take for the grad program was that first semester. So I remember meeting with... We had two mentor teachers at the school, and I remember meeting with one and just having a slight meltdown because it was

overwhelming. I had an observation and a midterm, like, all at the same time. And I said, this is a bit much. So that's why I told the intern, if I were to do it again,

I probably would wait a little bit. But I'm glad, I don't regret doing it, though. I really enjoyed completing that program. The math classes, of course, the education courses.

The one that really stood out to me was education policy and I took that with Doctor Kenreich. It was actually off-campus in Shady Grove, the Shady Grove campus. And I really, that just gave me another glimpse of

another facet of education and something that really piqued my interest. Even just looking at some of the different think tanks we had to look at, some of the policies and how, you know, policies that are in place now, things that we do now and how they came

about. And it just, it was kind of like that foundations of education. It's like, oh wow, this is the behind the scenes.

What's going on that causes you to now on the front line as a teacher do certain things? So that really piqued my interest taking that course. It is really interesting.

I noticed that in your materials you talked about things like Common Core and that's a huge policy-generated change and might not be too much of a change, but regulation, expectation in education now. And so that clearly is something that your school and

obviously your county and the state of Maryland are very much involved in. And it's nice to see Towson's name right there with it. I know anytime we speak about it at school and we go to our educator effectiveness academies, Towson is running those programs.

And it's just nice to know that your school is, you know, on the front lines with this and, you know, staying current and, you know, helping with a lot of these initiatives, that really gives you a lot of confidence that you really learned a lot while you were there,

and you really are very prepared. And even just I felt confident going out, especially, you know, just saying the name Towson University. When you say I went into education, you see eyes light up.

Oh, you went to Towson. Oh, OK. You know, it's like they know you've been prepared. You have, you know, everything you need come, you know,

come here. Right. Absolutely, that's nice to hear. So how has something like Common Core affected your curriculum in terms of

what you do in math? Because I think that's a fairly significant emphasis of course always is math. Well, it's changing the way our math classes

look. So I mean, even, I guess I've always been kind of hands-on where I know Doctor Nicholas from Kappa Delta Pi, she always commented that she didn't think I was a high school teacher because

I like to do arts and crafts and things like that. So I always incorporate that. So, you know, my lessons are very kind of interactive and hands-on, but for, you know, the typical math classroom that I guess

we're used to seeing where maybe the teacher is lecturing at the board and, you know, just doing a whole lot of problems and you just kind of drill and kill sort of thing. It's totally moving away from that with Common Core and very much task-oriented

types of problems, a problem-solving critical thinking and just really being able to take a real- world situation and pull it apart and do the math that's required to, you know, solve that problem. And even doing problems that don't have one solution at the end,

which is not something we're used to. And I know it's not something the students are used to. You mean there's not just one right answer? I would say that's something they like about math is that there's one right

answer. But now we're saying, well, you can justify that it might be this or it might be that as long as you can justify. So now requiring them to communicate a lot of the math that they're doing and

using math language that, you know, prior to now they weren't familiar with. So even, you know, bringing in those reading and writing components because I want you to talk like you're a mathematician. I want you to write like you're a mathematician

and use this type of vocabulary. So even not just the students, the teachers, we have to change some of our dynamics as well just for us to get used to this new way of doing things.

But I think it will make them so much more prepared for anything, you know, versus putting their learning in a box and, you know, saying, I'm going to teach you just what's in this box. Now it's kind of, I'm opening the box and I'm going to show

you some skills, this skill set that will help you do whatever. Because we don't know what is to come and we can't prepare for what we don't know of or what hasn't been invented yet.

But if we can give them the skills to think on their own, they can... Well, this sounds much more application than it is basic understanding. So that really is kind of a a switch in focus. Yes.

But probably something that has lots of real world applicability. Yes. So that's not such a bad thing. As you look to the future, what do you see for yourself? You think administration is a possibility down the road?

I've thought about it. I'm not sure just yet. Of course not. Yeah, I'm still, I don't know, my mind is still wandering all over the

place. But I've definitely more recently, as I was talking about the education policy, have been looking a lot at different opportunities with that just because it really, I don't know,

it really piqued my interest with all of the different research that goes into creating the different policies that then plays out in our classrooms and in our school buildings. And I don't know, I've just started looking into it.

So I don't know. I really enjoy looking at the education policy piece. You have time. Absolutely.

Damitra, what have we forgotten to talk about that you think is essential? [inaudible] Anything you thought, oh, that's a good story or that illustrates something very well, anything.

Oh, I did think of one thing. I think something else that really made the experience here at Towson really nice and made me feel very prepared was also, in addition to my education teachers, was the teachers in the math department who were math educators.

And I thought it was really nice to have professors who had been teachers because not only did they tell you, you know, best practices, they actually showed you and modeled it in their own instruction in class. So I think that was invaluable because you got to see it face-to-face each day

you went to class. They were, you know, had engaging lessons every time you went to meet with them. And so I think that really helped with that experience because they weren't

just professors, they were actually teachers and they had been in the classroom, they had done what you are about to do. So they had a lot to offer and tell you about their own experience. That helped a lot.

OK, one last question. What wisdom... You've now taught for five years and you've done a bit of administration as math department chair.

What would you say to individuals who are considering teaching as a profession? What words of wisdom would you give them? I would say you have to do it for the kids. I mean, you have to love,

you have to love what you're doing, for one, and you have to be solely there for the kids. It's not about... You don't take anything personal because the kids will have their up days and down days.

So, you know, don't take it personal. You know, it's not nothing against you necessarily, but you're really there for them. And that's... You have to remember each day why you got into the profession and it's

because you wanted to help young people. And so go in there every day with the mindset that I'm going to help, you know, young people, do whatever I can to help them and got to love them and love what you do.

Yeah. Do you think it's a good career choice? Absolutely. At least for you. Yes.

I shouldn't say for everyone, obviously. Yes. I remember my very first day at Overlea, my mom called me during lunch and she said, how does it feel to be doing what you've wanted to do all your life?

And I said it feels amazing just to see a goal that you had from second grade and now you're actually doing it. You're actually in a classroom and you're someone else's teacher, just like someone was teaching you long ago.

So it was definitely a dream realized. And I wouldn't change it at all. I know this is where I was supposed to be and doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Well, thank you for sharing these things with

us. Thank you.