When Michelle Kendrick decided to pursue a career as a Math Professor, she did so with one goal in mind…to make math fun.
“Most students come in afraid of Math,” Michelle said. “They don’t like it because they don’t think they can do it. But I’ve been fortunate enough to have had some great teachers who made Math interesting, fun, and accessible so when I started teaching I took what I learned from them and applied those lessons into my teaching philosophy.”
Originally from South Georgia, Michelle attended Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia for her undergraduate degree in Middle Grades Education. From there, she went on to teach Middle and High School Math for seven y
ears in South Georgia before starting her Master’s Degree at Florida State University, where she bowled collegiately and her husband, Joey coached the bowling team. While there, Michelle earned her Master’s and Specialists Degree in Secondary Math, and is currently working on her Doctorate in Elementary Education.
The Kendrick’s had lived in Tallahassee for 10 years before Michelle’s husband received a call from Joann Harper, Emmanuel College’s Director of Human Resources.
“She told him that a parent had contacted her because Emmanuel needed a bowling coach and they said Joey was the person to call,” Michelle said.
Joey had just gotten home from having knee replacement surgery, so at first the Kendrick’s dismissed the idea of moving to Franklin Springs, Ga. but when Ms. Harper called back, Joey decided to take the job and their Emmanuel story began.
Prior to her time at Emmanuel, Michelle spent her first seven years of teaching at a Christian K-12 school and loved the opportunity she had there to form relationships with her students. Therefore, when an opportunity became available for her at Emmanuel College when she first moved to Georgia, she applied because of how much she enjoyed her experience in a Christ-centered setting.
“I had my students from 6th-12th grade,” Michelle said. “So I was able to build relationships at my first job with my students that you can’t necessarily do in a public-school setting.”
She also learned more about her faith from teaching in a Christian setting.
“We shared our testimonies and the students brought different perspectives of the bible and their faith,” Michelle said. “It was a Non-Denominational church so we got to have that fellowship which was very cool.”
Therefore, when her husband was offered the job at Emmanuel, Michelle was sure to point out the added benefit of working in a Christian environment.
“He had always worked for public companies,” Michelle said. “He didn’t have that opportunity to see that side of work where you can build relationships and share your faith. So, when he had the opportunity, I wanted him to experience what I did.”
Now as the Chair of the Mathematics Department, Michelle has the opportunity to teach students from her own experience and real life situations.
“That’s my goal,” Michelle said. “Let’s make math interesting by doing projects and solving real world problems. Coming to Emmanuel, it’s unique because I can give the education students techniques and videos to use to show them how to make math fun.”
In Michelle’s experience, most Math Education students she has encountered have chosen that route because of a great teacher that helped make Math interesting. Michelle asks that all students harness this feeling and remember the reason why they’ve chosen to teach Math.
“What happens with Education students is they’ll always go back and emulate what they’ve seen in the past,” Michelle said. “It’s hard because when students go out to do practicums, the lecture style is what they see and what supervising teachers want to see.”
Because of this, Michelle has spent a lot of time trying to make her classes different, stepping away from the lecture format hoping that students will do the same when they have their own classroom.
Michelle is also responsible for teaching the remedial Math 99 class and, last semester MA124 College Algebra.
“To have students come in that struggle with math and have hated it for 13 years,” Michelle said. “It’s my job to help them focus on their strengths and show them that they can do it.”
One way Michelle does this is through building her students’ confidence, causing them to put more effort into their work by making math interesting.
“I tell perspective teachers this all the time, you sometimes have to put on a show to help your students be more engaged or interested in a topic,” Michelle said. “You have to show them how math topics can be applied to real life, so they are intrigued and want to learn. Even if they don’t like math, my goal is that they leave class with a better appreciation for it.”
For most students, Michelle has found the issue to be overcoming the obstacle of “I can’t.”
“To me, it’s just like anything else,” Michelle said. “If you say you can’t do it, you won’t be able to. So I try to put something positive in their minds.”
Outside of helping students learn to appreciate math, Michelle also relishes in the opportunity to share her faith with students, hoping that it helps them grow in their own.
“I think the cool part about us being able to witness is that if we are showing a consistent witness, students will start to understand how real it is,” Michelle said. “A student will begin to realize that even if they’re having a bad day, there’s a support system available to them and they want that.”
Outside of the classroom, Michelle stays busy helping her husband coach the EC Bowling team.
“Being in the Athletic Center so much, in that realm, students see you and realize you’re not just a teacher,” Michelle said. “There’s life outside of the classroom, so being able to interact with students on that level is great.”
Michelle sees her family’s involvement on campus as just another tool for building relationships with the student population at EC.
“We try to attend as many athletic events as we can,” Michelle said. “Through doing this, students know that you value them outside of the classroom and appreciate that they have more to offer than what you see in class.”
