Juan Chouza once believed he was not a math person. Now he teaches math at Edge High School, a tuition-free high school serving grades 9-12 in Tucson, and spends every day helping students get past the same mental block he once had.
From Marketing to Math
Juan did not always plan on teaching math. He struggled with the subject in high school and hit a mental block that stuck with him for years. A professor in college changed that. That professor’s influence, especially in algebra, pulled Juan away from a marketing major and toward math instead.
He started tutoring in the campus math lab, and helping classmates work through their notes showed him something about himself: he liked breaking a hard concept down until it made sense to someone else. That work built his communication skills too, since every student needed the material explained differently.
Why He Teaches at Edge
Juan has spent two years teaching at Edge Northwest, after a year at Himmel Park before that. He lived near one of the campuses and knew of the school before he ever applied. What kept him is Edge’s approach to the individual student, not the student body as a whole. At other schools, Juan explains, a student who gets stuck often gets blocked. At Edge, careful individualizing means the support changes to fit the student, not the other way around.
A Student Who Changed His Approach
One student, a quiet first-year, only wanted to work with one specific teacher and would wait rather than start working with anyone else. Juan had to figure out how to earn that trust. The lesson that broke through was metrics and the imperial system. Juan printed a conversion sheet with visual cues the student could follow along on paper. Sharing that visual cue, along with a little vulnerability of his own, built the trust that let the student start working with him.
What He Wants Students to Remember
Ask Juan what he hopes students carry with them, in math and in life, and the answer starts with confidence. He wants every student to know they can do what they set their mind to, and that showing up is the first step. Years from now, when a former student runs into him, Juan hopes they remember his friendliness and how comfortable he made them feel about learning, even the subject that once blocked him too.
Fun Facts About Juan Outside the Classroom
- A dog dad to three: a Boxer and two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
- A fan of Tucson’s food scene
- A traveler who is saving his time off for a long-time-goal trip to Europe
If Juan had to describe Edge in one word, he would choose flexibility. He means it broadly: flexibility in learning, in schedules, in student styles and personalities, and in timelines that do not have to be rigid to work.
Juan sums up his approach to math the same way Edge supports students: “We might not all be algebra people, but everyone’s a math person in their own way.”
About Edge High School
For 30 years, Edge has been serving Tucson youth with a tuition-free, Cognia-accredited, high school education. We provide an alternative to traditional education, meeting the diverse learning and life needs of our students with online distance learning, in-person and flexible morning or afternoon schedules at two conveniently located campuses. Our high-quality, passionate teachers are dedicated to individualized instruction in our small academic classes. Get to know Edge on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. Be you. With us. At Edge.