Reflections on the Desmos Fellows Weekend

The night before the Desmos Fellowship weekend started, I couldn't sleep. I had no idea what to expect. I knew literally no one, except for a few names from the MTBoS. I wasn't sure what they wanted out of me - would we be asked to give input on the software? Test new features? Show how we use Desmos in our classrooms? Surely, we'd be asked to "prove ourselves" in some capacity. I mean, after all, they'd paid my way out to SF, so I assumed I'd need to add value in some way. I was nervous, but also excited. As an island unto myself in my school (the only 6-8 math teacher), I was super psyched to talk with other math teachers about math.

The scene when I arrived was a little intimidating, even for this extrovert. Everyone was standing around talking, introducing themselves, and it was loud. I met a lot of new cohort members, and I was surprised to learn that there were lots of Fellows who had returned from cohorts 1 and 2. 

That's me on the far right, arms folded. Not sure why I look so annoyed! (Photo credit: Eli)

Pretty soon into the evening, Dan Meyer assured us that we had already given Desmos everything we needed to - that our participation in the weekend was "enough." He also explained why we were chosen (which I am sure was a question on a lot of our minds - how were we the 40 teachers selected out of over 400 applicants?). He explained that we were connectors - we were teachers who present at conferences, who lead PD's with other math teachers, who connect over Twitter to share ideas. His message made it clear that I needed to merely be myself to be of value. This was both relieving and liberating.

Desmos is an amazing software tool, but it is also an amazing company. Nearly all of its ~16 employees came to the entire weekend of events, many of them staying at our hotel to participate fully (despite living nearby). It is clear that everyone, from Eli the founder/CEO, to the teaching faculty, to the tech team, to the business team, are all totally committed to the mission of creating technology that allows ALL students to have greater access to and success in learning math. There were several times that I was blown away by the integrity and commitment of these folks: their precepts on the wall, Eli's anecdotes about starting the company on his own, Michael's willingness to sit down and teach me about how to make manipulatives on the graph, Shelley's warmth and hospitality all weekend, and Cori's crazy-fast responsiveness to new feature requests. This feeling is contagious when you work with this team, both online and in person. And the Fellows take this commitment to the next level, offering advice, positivity, and feedback in their spare time.  

After our short 2.5 days together, I left with an overall feeling of incompleteness. I felt like I just wasn't able to fully contribute in a room of 50+ math teachers, all working on their own projects. I have more to give! More to receive! More people to meet, more brains to pick! But I now realize that the Fellows weekend was the just tip of the iceberg. What lingers is feeling like when you start reading a really good book and can't wait to read more. Unfortunately, 4 days at TMC plus being a full-time mom during the summer means that I have had to put this book down as of late. I can't wait to finish the activity I started during the Fellows weekend, to try out some of the ideas we generated over casual conversations, and to stay connected to this community of math teachers who are amazingly committed and curious. 

Put simply, Desmos is great at what they do and wants to keep doing it even better. I feel privileged to be part of the group that helps them do that.

Desmos Fellows doing a Math Mingle on the first evening - no tech, just good problems! Photo credit: Hanako