The Next Chapter
March 14, 2026
I've recently been admitted to a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program with a focus on Secondary Education in Mathematics. I start classes in April and if all goes according to plan, I'll be a licensed high school math teacher in time for the 2027-2028 school year. I'm excited!
At the start of my career, I thought I might want to teach math--maybe at a small college. In fact, here's a picture of me teaching algebra to a bunch of freshmen during my first year of graduate school. Notice the huge grin.
I ultimately landed in computer science, but I never really forgot about math. Much of my recent teaching has reflected this in subtle ways. For example, sneaking a lambda-calculus tutorial into PyCon, hiding category theory inside a keynote talk, or offering the math-adjacent SICP course. Even my talks featuring "live coding" were grounded in a math sensibility in a lot of ways.
Now, you might wonder if this move has been motivated by the massive upheaval in the practice of coding. To be sure, all of "that" has definitely been a catalyst. However, I've also been restlessly looking forward at my career thinking "do I really want to spend the rest of my days sitting in the basement staring at Zoom?" No, I do not! I once had a Chicago office that I rather enjoyed. I need to be "out and about" in an environment that's fully engaged with people in the real world--and to be sure, teaching high school is definitely going to be THAT! Maybe even 100x THAT--plus pep rallys.
But why high school? If you must know, I have two boys currently in high school, including a graduating senior. Thus, I've had a close enough view to see it as something that appeals to my sensibilities. Watching the gradual transition of my kids and their friends from wide-eyed 9th graders to soon-to-be college freshmen has also been pretty amazing--an observation that is not lost on me. I've also been engaged in various activities such as community band where many of the members are current or retired school teachers and they all seem to be pretty well adjusted.
In the bigger picture, teaching HS math is something that directly touches the lives of a lot of students given that nobody can graduate from high school without taking math. So, while I expect this whole affair to be difficult and messy, it also seems like a place of honor where good work might make a positive difference. I like that.
Random family fact: my grandmother got her masters and started teaching math at the university at the age of 45--after spending the previous twenty years as a homemaker. Her brother was a math professor who wrote a calculus textbook. I even had a step-grandmother with a graduate degree in statistics. Needless to say, there's probably something about all of this math stuff lingering around in the family ether.
As I move on, I'd just like to thank everyone who has attended my courses over the years. I genuinely enjoyed teaching these classes and learned a lot in the process. I hope you learned a lot too.
Cheers,
Dave