To commence the 2023-2024 school year, there have been several new additions to the Arcadia High School (AHS) staff. We welcome Ms. Deborah Davidson as one of the newest teachers to AHS’ Mathematics Department!

After working as a high school and vocational college teacher primarily in the Central Valley, Ms. Davidson feels that her experiences have prepared her well for her ninth year of teaching. She’s taught students from toddlers to teens, but she feels high school is her strong suit. At AHS, Ms. Davidson teaches two periods of Geometry Honors and three periods of Statistics. Fun fact: Ms. Davidson’s favorite mathematical formula in Statistics is the margin of error formula because of its resemblance to a cat.

When inquired about her least favorite thing about being a teacher, she mentions the small challenges that wouldn’t come to mind when people choose teaching as a career.

“I can’t just use the bathroom whenever I want,” Ms. Davidson said. “It’s not something that you really think about when you’re like, ‘I want to be a teacher.'” Despite these challenges, Ms. Davidson noted that her favorite thing about teaching is seeing appreciation from students. 

“There’s so many cool things about being a teacher, but it’s definitely nice when you see how grateful students can be,” Ms. Davidson expressed. “Once in a while you’ll hear a student say ‘Oh, yeah, I really like this class’…little bits of glitter that kind of brighten up your day to remind you why you like being a teacher.” 

Ms. Davidson shares the most challenging thing about being a teacher is that it can be taken for granted.

“Teachers are human too,” Ms. Davidson said. 

She also contrasts the teaching profession with other professions. 

“It’s not really treated the same as other careers,” she continued, saying there isn’t “the same reverence for it” as there is for non-teaching professions. However, Ms. Davidson has enjoyed her time working in the Arcadia Unified School District so far.

“The kids, the administration, my colleagues, they’re all great; and [AHS is a] wonderful place to be [in],” said Ms. Davidson.

Ms. Davidson also responded to the question of what advice she would like to give students and told them to “err on the side of kindness.” 

“Give yourself a break. You’re human, people make mistakes… be kind to yourself also,” she said. “That attitude I think is just always good for yourself or others; you never know what other people are going through.”

Ms. Davidson also shares an additional word of wisdom.

“Relax,” Ms. Davidson said. “I have students that are really anxious, or they come to me and they’re freaking out,” she said. “Ideally, before you get to that point, just ask yourself, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ The worst thing that probably would happen is not as bad as it seems.”

We hope Ms. Davidson has a smooth first year at AHS, and we thank her for sharing her insightful experiences and words of advice. We are so grateful to have Ms. Davidson at AHS for the coming years!