When Jennifer Whipple was getting ready to start college, she felt stuck. Although she knew she loved mathematics, she wasn’t sure what to do with that talent. Her mother, who had worked in her hometown’s school district for many years, offered Whipple a suggestion.
“Why not be a math teacher?” she said.
“When she asked that, I just thought, Oh! I can do that,” Whipple said. “It’s been great. And both of my daughters are math teachers now, too! It’s good to see that love for education going on through the generations.”
Throughout her 31 years of teaching, Whipple has tried to convey to her students her enthusiasm for math processes and, as often as possible, how the math they learn is used in real life.
Ridgeline Principal Bardett Bagley expressed profound gratitude for Whipple when naming her as Ridgeline High School’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. He cites her open heart and infectious enthusiasm for learning as attributes that make her extraordinary.
“I remember watching Jennifer teach a difficult lesson to a group of rowdy junior boys last year,” Bagley said. “I was so impressed with her ability to engage them, keep their focus, and get every class member to not only participate but also contribute to the lesson! The content she teaches is difficult, but she has such great rapport with her students, and she makes math engaging for them.”
Whipple modestly credited her bond with students as key to her success.
“The excitement from the kids is the best part,” Whipple said. “Especially those who struggle with math. When I’m working with them, and I finally can see that they’ve got it, that light in their eyes, it’s so fun. I try to show them the real-life applications of what we learn in class. For example, we look at stocks and can show what number logs do in the stock market; we examine exponentials by talking about bacteria growth and those sorts of things. The connections to what they’re learning in other classes are so important.”
Teaching may not always be easy, but Whipple says her students’ genuine acts of kindness motivate her on the more challenging days.
“They get me through the difficult moments,” she said. “I love seeing their gratitude. When they tell me ‘thank you’ or that I helped them with something, we celebrate that moment together. It’s just the best.”
