More than Math

June 19th 2024

Mackenzie Franck went through the process of getting her teaching license thinking that she would become an Elementary teacher, but God had different plans for her. Mrs. Franck is one of our middle school math teachers, and she loves every day of it. “Honestly, God has placed me here, and it’s just so fun to be able to interact with the students and see them grow and just be their weird selves. Just the random things they come up and talk to me about [...] I love that they are silly and just themselves.”

Mrs. Franck believes that, although math is important, her students having a connection with her is even more important. “Even if they don’t like math, they know that I care about them, and I want them to succeed as much as they can.” That being said, she is also a firm believer in that teaching and learning math can be fun! And not only can learning math be fun, but learning how to overcome a difficult problem or situation is a powerful lesson she strives to instill in her students. “How are you going to respond when something is hard, whether it’s at a job or in a relationship? Are you going to just give up, or are you going to persevere?”

Even if they don't like math, the students know that I care about them, and I want them to succeed as much as they can. - Mackenzie Franck

In terms of how Mrs. Franck connects her teaching to biblical principles, teaching confidence is one of many angles. “One step at a time and you’re going to get through it, and God’s going to give you that strength [...]” Math can be difficult, and for many students, it’s their most difficult subject, but through teaching students that it’s okay to struggle and it’s okay to make mistakes, Mrs. Franck is able to give her students the tools they need to be successful.

One project that she’s loved teaching is her end-of-unit project for pre-algebra where students are tasked with creating their own carnival game. Students put in time researching different types of carnival games, narrowing their focus, choosing one to begin designing, and ultimately making a realistic version of it for the class. The focus of this project from a math perspective is on probability and chance. “We had a day where all of the students were playing each other’s games and they were collecting data [...] and then the day after they were analyzing the results.” After this data is collected, students are then able to redesign their game based on their results and whether or not things went according to plan.

Mrs. Franck’s favorite part about working at Maranatha is the community. “It’s a broad term, but that includes the families that are here, the staff, my coworkers, the administration, all the people that I get to interact with on a day-to-day basis [...] It’s just the people that make up Maranatha, and I don’t hear about that at other schools. There’s this amazing love and care that we get and we have between each other and the families.” When asked about what sets Maranatha apart, Mrs. Franck spoke about Maranatha’s rigor compared to most schools, the great support that students have here no matter where their skillset or knowledge may fall, and the environment of a Christian education. “God has called you [the students] to be who you are, starting even in middle school [...]”