American Heroes
Mrs. Veley, of the math department, is retiring this year. This news is tear-jerking, but Mrs. Veley probably deserves to have something written about her.
Mrs. Veley has taught math for thirty-four years. She studied at Cornell and at Harvard, pursuing a psychology minor. She asserts that she has "both sides of the brain". She taught for ten years at Lexington and twenty-four at Acton. Currently, she specializes in Algebra 2H and AB Calculus, though she has taught everything from elementary Algebra I to Trigonometry. She claims that she has loved all that she has taught, though she concedes that memory has a funny way of playing tricks on people. Her favorite part of teaching is seeing "the little light bulbs" going off when a student figures out something for the first time.
Mrs. Veley's presence in a classroom has been a privilege to her students. She presents the material to challenge and to improve her students' abilities. To be a student of Mrs. Veley is both to work hard at home and to seek answers to questions actively. To err on one of Mrs. Veley's tests is to be disciplinarily and justly punished. Besides her admirable typical demonstrations of problems, Mrs. Veley adds an additional spice to the classroom with her charisma and sense of humor. For instance, each Halloween, she introduces her students to math-related jokes. Her class has also spawned several memes, quotes, and epic moments. For all the greatness that is a conic, studying it can only become more exciting at the sight of Mrs. Veley earnestly contorting her arms to bring the graph of a hyperbola into the third dimension.
Mrs. Veley is the latest in the new wave of teachers retiring. Mrs. Veley claims that she has nothing to set her apart from the fad, but she does offer some interesting tidbits about her personal life. She lives in Boxborough, and she spends a lot of her time on her barn and in her garden. In her retirement, she intends to spend more time with her horses and to continue playing in a handbell choir. She also hopes to return to school on occasion to teach certain part-time classes and to sub for other teachers.
Mrs. Veley's legacy has formed gradually. She oversaw the modernization and computerization of AB's summer school program and the extension of the summer school program to students who wanted to get ahead - she approves of the construction that has taken place at school for the last few years, though on occasion she has her doubts about whiteboards. In addition, she was the first coach of AB's prestigious Academic Decathalon team. Under Mrs. Veley, AB began its tradition of annual domination at AcaDec meets. Most importantly, though, Mrs. Veley's studnets will remember their high school math teacher for her enthusiasm and optimism. They will no longer get caught up in the quagmire. Mrs. Veley's career at AB has been a blessing and an honor.
SD
May 18, '06
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