Steve Miller worked first as a software developer. Janet Waldeck started out as a research scientist.
But both left their initial careers to get into the teaching profession. And last month, both area teachers received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics & Science Teaching, the highest honor the U.S. government bestows on high school math and science teachers.
Steve Miller
Mr. Miller is head of the mathematics department and teaches computer science at Upper St. Clair High School. Ms. Waldeck teaches physics, AP physics and research at Pittsburgh Allderdice. Nationwide, 215 teachers received the award this year, including four in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Miller originally worked as a software developer after graduating from Upper St. Clair and earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Virginia. And while he enjoyed that career, he found that what he enjoyed even more was his volunteer work with a high school youth group at his church. Seeking to combine the two, he went back to school at the University of Pittsburgh for a master’s degree in education and got a job at his alma mater as a math teacher.
For the last five years, he has taught computer science — a discipline that requires him to constantly re-evaluate his curriculum and teaching methods. “Just because there’s a language that’s popular today doesn’t always mean that that language will be relevant in five years,” he said. “In computer science you might have a student who flat-out knows more about a topic than I do — being comfortable with that and figuring out how to be of value is a unique challenge.”
He is also committed to offering students the opportunity to pace themselves as much as possible. To allow that, he videotapes his lectures so that the students can proceed at the pace they need to challenge themselves or to feel comfortable.
Janet Waldeck
Ms. Waldeck has taught at Allderdice for 13 years and taught for 11 years before that at The Ellis School, Quaker Valley High School and South Fayette High School. She has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Stanford University.
When she moved to Pittsburgh, “I didn’t find any jobs at the local universities for a research scientist,” she said. “I tried teaching, and I really fell into a job that I love.”
Ms. Waldeck has taught every scientific subject except AP Biology, and is thrilled to currently focus on physics. Physics, she said, is inherently appealing to high school students. “You’ve been doing this since you knocked your cereal off the high chair to see it fall,” she said. “Kids naturally like physics — we just have to contain ourselves. It can be so much fun.”
At Allderdice, she has the freedom to write the physics curriculum, and is also involved with reading the AP Physics exams and consulting for the National Math and Science Initiative and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Ms. Waldeck often spends her summers doing workshops or professional development and at one of those workshops at Cornell University several years ago, she got the idea to bring a science equipment lending library to Pittsburgh. Partnering with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, she developed state-of-the-art kits that can be lent out to science teachers from local high schools.
She also developed a research class at Allderdice where students can pursue a project of their choice, often partnering with a mentor at a local university.
Mr. Miller, Ms. Waldeck and the other awardees received a $10,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and a trip to Washington D.C. to meet each other and attend recognition and professional development events.
On the way home, Mr. Miller was able to stop and get coffee with Michael Nastac, the former student who nominated him for the award, who is now studying at the University of Maryland.
“The fact that he felt I was every worthy of being nominated means more to me than the award itself,” said Mr. Miller. “I got to wrap it up by spending time with him and that was really special.”
Anya Sostek: asostek@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1308.
First Published: November 6, 2019, 12:30 p.m.
