LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Rebecca Graner was nominated anonymously. 

"On my journey to high school, I remember being decent in most subjects, but when math came up, I got quiet. It's never been a secret that math is the subject I struggle with. Many teachers didn't understand how I needed to learn and to be honest; I didn't either. In my first year at Kettle Moraine Global (a charter school within KMSD), I was just a little freshman going into algebra with no idea what I was doing. Mrs. Graner was my math teacher, and within a few days, she knew how to help me! She quickly realized that I didn't know how to do math (and didn't want to), so she started trying different strategies. I don't remember most of them, but she found the right one. She provided reassurance. A quick 'yup, that's right' from Mrs. Graner gave me so much confidence. She always said, 'Don't second-guess yourself, you're doing great!' I struggled with second-guessing myself and always changed my answers at the last second. She would show me an entrance to the question and then tell me to call her right before I pressed submit. When I called her, she would come over and check my answer. If the answer was wrong, she would help me with the problem before she left again for her other students. Knowing I could do it gave me confidence and a lot of motivation towards math. When I messed up, she would laugh, but it was with me, not against me. She made making mistakes almost fun! I never felt made fun of like I did with other teachers; I felt like I made a quick mistake, but I would get over it fast, almost like I needed to make that mistake to find the answer. I remember she had two classes at one time and needed to teach the other group; every five to ten minutes, she would take a break and pay attention to all of us in the other class. It kept us focused, knowing we would get the help we needed. She made sure to come over and check my work every time because she knew, with a little reassurance, I could do it! I have never had a teacher show me I could do it! She was strict, but in a way that I needed. Mrs. Graner got to know all of us and helped us just as we needed to! Since Mrs. Graner, I have had a better feeling about math and have become more confident in my math skills! Which I believe is what I needed," said the nominator.