Emily Pinkston

Say and spell your first and last name and your official title.

Emily Pinkston 

What does your position entail?

I’m a math teacher. I teach integrated Algebra, Geometry and Honors Pre-Calc.

What does a day in your life look like? 

I wake up at 5:15 a.m. and I try to get to school by 7 a.m. I teach my classes, and then after school, I go home, workout, eat dinner and then work all evening.

What inspired you to go into this field?

I always wanted to help people. I’m really passionate about making a difference in other people’s lives. I’ve had a lot of bad math teachers, so I’m hoping to be a good math teacher and give people a positive safe space to learn math.

What makes Northwest stand out from other schools?

I really like Gruman. I think she seems like a really supportive administrator that seems like she would listen and be there for staff. The Apple TV’s are that stands out in a negative way, I would say I do not like those. It’s not helpful in my teaching. I feel like my classes are pretty diverse and I like that a lot.

Highlight of the year so far?

I had a student that was willing to stay after school for like an hour to get help. I really appreciated that they were willing and wanting to do better.

What are you most looking forward to this year? 

Building relationships with students. The best part about teaching is getting to know people, the feedback I get from students is that this is the first time they’ve enjoyed math class. I’m hoping that I can create that environment for students this year.

What are your goals for the year?

Really just building those relationships and making my classroom a positive place to learn.

How can students contact you?

They can send me an email at emilypinkston@smsd.org, send me a message on canvas or if they want to stop by my classroom it is room 213.

What is one thing you would say to the NW student body?

It’s important to have a growth mindset. Don’t tell yourself ‘I’m bad at math, I could never do better.’ We’re all gonna make mistakes and so it’s good to learn from our mistakes and try our best to do better.

Where have you worked before?

I worked for one year at SM South and then I worked for five years in Palo Alto, California. This is my first year back in Kansas.