Decked out for the holidays in a snowflake-patterned sweater
with her red hair tucked underneath a Santa hat, Cathy Silva, 45,
patiently helped her ninth-grade math lab students cut 5- and
6-pointed snowflakes out of paper.
Decked out for the holidays in a snowflake-patterned sweater with her red hair tucked underneath a Santa hat, Cathy Silva, 45, patiently helped her ninth-grade math lab students cut 5- and 6-pointed snowflakes out of paper. Not an easy task since the sheets of paper were four-sided.
An exercise in following directions, the 14 students completed the assignment with varying degrees of success.
“It’s one of those very difficult tasks, following directions,” she pointed out to her students.
During the last period of the day, she had to come up with creative activities to hold the dwindling attention spans of her students as they waited for the final bell of their math class before the winter break.
Just when they seemed to be losing interest, she switched gears to a game of BINGO to review their arithmetic skills.
“She makes math more fun,” said Ryan Naranjl, 14, a math lab student. “She doesn’t make us sit and write notes all day, which is good.”
Another of Silva’s students spoke highly of her teacher. “I’d recommend her for anything unless she’s transferring!” Brittany Lorenz, 16, said.
The students had a test earlier in the class so Silva planned fun activities to round out the day.
Creativity like this earned her a nomination for Educator of the Year from Gilroy High School principal James Maxwell.
“She is, without a doubt, one of the most talented and hard-working teachers I have observed in 34 years of education,” Maxwell said. “Cathy’s enthusiasm, professionalism, innovative ideas and her ability to take the initiative continue to motivate students and faculty alike.”
Every year, high schools send their nominations for Educator of the Year to the California League of High Schools. Each of the 11 regions selects 10 finalists and Silva was in the top 10 for Region 5. Of all the high schools in Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, GHS was able to send one of it’s teachers to the Region 5 dinner at The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas.
“It was quite an honor to be nominated from this school,” Silva said. “We have so many deserving educators.”
A graduate of San Jose State University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering, Silva hadn’t originally planned on becoming a high school math teacher. She made her living writing software programs until she gave birth to her two children, who are graduates of GHS. When her children were young, Silva started volunteering in the classroom and discovered her love for teaching. She transitioned her career from behind the computer screen to the head of the classroom. She has been a math teacher at GHS for 10 years.
Silva teaches pre-calculus and math lab, a math intervention class for freshmen.
“It’s fun to see the different ends of the spectrum,” Silva said, acknowledging how her two classes exhibit different degrees of capability in math. “We try to do that throughout the department. That way we get a better understanding for how they all fit together.”
On top of her time in the classroom, she retires to the track at the end of the school day. She coaches girls cross country and track for distance runners.
“It’s fun to have all different types of relationships with the kids,” Silva said, comparing her students to her athletes. Considering that she teaches the math intervention class, most of the students aren’t too excited to be in the class, she said. Teaching them requires creative solutions but Silva welcomes the challenge. On the contrary, her athletes want to be a part of the team.
“I love that about being a coach,” Silva said. “They’re out running, doing something they’re having fun with, something they love.”
One of her favorite parts of being a teacher is watching them grow during their four years of high school.
“You become attached to them,” she said. “You get tears in your eyes when they walk across that stage at graduation.”
