In the top three hundred building, behind a stained glass window is a laid-back teacher with a dry sense of humor named Mrs. Stedman. Although she’s been a teacher for the past 28 years, she has been a freshman algebra teacher at Sahuaro for exactly four years. She wanted to be a teacher because her mom, dad, and her grandma are teachers, so why not her? Mrs. Stedman  loves to tell stories when it’s appropriate; some include short random comments, or stories about an ostrich trying to rip off her finger, and some of them are just her talking about throwing phones in the hallway if the buzzing didn’t stop.

She also sells water bottles for 50 cents – something she does to raise money so she can give it to kids who need lunch.  She keeps them in a little fridge so they are usually always cold. She connects with her students in a unique way. If you give her a movie\show\book she will  put it on a poster when she finishes it and she will try her best to get to everyone. She enjoys horror movies if that gives you some ideas. Mrs. Stedman enjoys teaching for the most part, but stated that she would quit if she had a bad year. Not a bad day, a bad year. Why teach if it stresses you out to the point where you can’t enjoy it?

She has dozens of quotes and hashtags all around the room, and at first, she just wanted to give a hashtag for her quote: “Don’t walk ten miles into a forest and expect to get out in five,” is one of her many quotes and this one seems like one that actually has a pretty deep meaning. If you think about it, it’s probably just something to do with math.  She has a lot of out-going spirit and is just fun to watch or be around. So next time you’re walking around, maybe drop in and go say “Hey,” or give her a movie while you’re at it.