Some things in life are hard to get through, but doing so makes a person successful.  One of these things is getting a PhD.  Although many teachers do not have one, math teacher Beth Knott does.

“I finished my PhD in March of 2013 from Roosevelt University,” said Knott. “My dissertation was on teacher perspectives on online education.”

Teaching at school and going to college at the same time can prove to be very difficult.  The program that Knott participated in proved to be just that.

According to Knott, It’s a five year program where you go to school every week during the school year and over the summer. After you finish your coursework, you have to do a research project and write a paper on your project, as well as a presentation to defend your conclusions to the faculty of the College of Education.  

“The courses were really interesting and I enjoyed them,” said Knott. “The dissertation was much more difficult because you don’t go to class any more. You’re doing everything on your own with a faculty adviser.”

Why go through this difficulty? For Knott, it was her passion for learning.

“I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do and I always enjoyed going to school,” said Knott. “I already had two master’s degrees, so I decided to go back to school because I liked learning.”

Her advice for future math teachers is to not only have good grades, but also have good creativity and critical thinking skills.

“If you’re planning on becoming a math teacher, find a college that you enjoy and be able to ask questions because being a good math student doesn’t necessarily make you a good math teacher,” said Knott.  “You have to learn how to explain some things in different ways because not everybody is going to understand as easily as you might.”