Tucked away in the B Building, Noel Banuelos spends his school days teaching Integrated Math 1 and Integrated Math 3. As a new staff member at the school, Banuelos is excited to impart his knowledge to his students.
“I love showing how math is connected across grades, getting students to see big ideas instead of isolated tricks,” Banuelos said. “I’m especially into inquiry-based lessons that start with a puzzle, discussion or visual and build toward formal language and procedures. Confidence building is huge: [I love] helping students realize they know more than they think.”
Banuelos began his teaching career in 2011 at Crenshaw High School, and then Clinton Middle School in Los Angeles, along with Oak Crest Middle School and Earl Warren Middle School (EWMS) in San Diego. He completed his undergraduate studies at Occidental College before earning his teaching credentials in math from the University of Southern California’s graduate school.
“A fellowship called ‘Math for America (MfA)’ motivated me to teach,” Banuelos said. “Right after college, I wasn’t sure what to do, but MfA’s mission to improve math education in Los Angeles clicked for me. I felt I could make a real impact.”
At this new, larger campus, Banuelos needed to adjust to teaching at a bigger school. Luckily, he recognizes many familiar faces from EWMS.
“My department has checked in on me, administration has been supportive, and former students from Earl Warren have gone out of their way to say hello, which means a lot to me,” Banuelos said.
Banuelos still gets anxious when meeting new people, making the transition to the school an experience that pushed him out of his comfort zone.
“The transition was an adjustment, but colleagues have shared resources, answered questions, and checked in,” Banuelos said. “I moved to grow professionally, teach new courses and challenge myself.”
One of Banuelos’ main goals is to teach lessons that students can apply outside of the classroom.
“What we practice, breaking big problems into smaller parts, modeling with functions, checking reasonableness, shows up in real life constantly,” Banuelos said. “I use the same habits to plan workouts, set family schedules and even pick the best value when shopping.”
Banuelos uses daily check-ins, warm-ups and small-group talks to create a positive, safe environment inside his room.
“I want a relationship with my students built on trust, effort and clear expectations,” Banuelos said. “You bring the effort, I bring the structure and support.”
Being a teacher comes with its rewards and challenges, but it is nothing Banuelos feels he cannot handle. The rewarding moments for him consist of seeing students have “aha” moments, grow in confidence and begin to enjoy math when they previously did not.
“Some challenges that occur are meeting a wide range of readiness while keeping pace, getting quieter high-schoolers to share thinking and balancing preparation with family time,” Banuelos said.
Banuelos strives to have his students enjoy his math lessons and find beauty in them.
“Math is a big puzzle that can be broken into simpler parts,” Banuelos said. “Sometimes students feel overwhelmed by symbols, and the algorithmic side of math, but when we step back, you realize you know more than you think.”
