At the El Reno vs Piedmont football game Piedmont’s Principal Steve Spears was presented a check for Science and Math education at Piedmont high school by the people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas.
One of the teachers who will benefit from this donation is Alina Stout who teaches Algebra 1 at Piedmont High.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Your hobbies, your passions.
I have been married for almost two years to Blake Stout. We met in the college marching band five years ago, and we moved to Oklahoma just over a year ago. Outside of teaching, I am heavily involved in church ministry with my husband, who is the youth minister at Soldier Creek Church of Christ. I see myself as an educator and mentor both in the classroom and in the church. Blake and I enjoy a variety of hobbies together such as reading, creating music, and cooking. We also love visiting and hosting our families who live out-of-state.
What classes do you teach?
I teach Algebra 1 at Piedmont High School. This is my second year at Piedmont High School.
Where did you go to college and what led you into teaching?
I went to college at Harding University in Searcy, AR. It was a wonderful place to go to school, and it has provided me with a community that I get to continue to be a part of even though I am an alumna.
I did not expect to go into teaching when I first started college. Even when I began to work on my licensure, I was not entirely convinced that I wanted to be a teacher. However, I am drawn to helping people through difficult school requirements so that they could go into the professions they aspire to. I have a rather deep reserve of patience for those who are learning. I see value in getting to make a positive impact on children in your community. When a teacher can bless their students, it makes an impact on the student’s family as well. I remember my whole family benefitting from the kindness and hard work of my teachers in high school, and I am happy that I can pay that forward to my own students now.
Who mentored you into the educator you are today?
I come from a family of educators, and I have grown up watching them try new things, put in extra hours for their students, meet their students’ needs, and continue their own education to help with their personal wisdom and humility.
I relied on the perspective and counsel of my husband, family, church family, and principals during my first year of teaching, and their support is what helped me get through the toughest learning curves as a new teacher. I would not be able to do what I do without them.
What do you love about teaching?
I love getting to watch my students buy into learning and grow because of it. As a math teacher, I am aware that I will only have a few students every year who consider math as their passion. The challenge that I face is how to motivate my students with an internal drive to learn math not because they are expected to, but because they want to. I am thrilled when my students find their internal drive for their education.
Another thing that I love about teaching is getting to smile at my students every day. I am here for them, and I want them to succeed. I want them to come into my classroom and find themselves in a place of peace and learning. It’s amazing what all you can accomplish when the students in the room feel confident in their ability to learn.
What is great about your current school?
I truly believe that I am teaching at the best high school in Oklahoma. We have amazing principals who are encouraging, supportive, and who help us achieve high standards. All of the coaches and other extracurricular sponsors at Piedmont High School work hard for their students to excel in their programs and to be proud of what they have accomplished. I have great coworkers that want the best for our students. Our school staff accomplishes all of these wonderful things even while our school is quickly growing in size. It would be an understatement to say that I am impressed.
Why is teaching Math so important?
Math is the language behind the continual innovation of our world. The STEM field has more job opportunities for good minds than ever before. We enjoy living in an innovative society because of the people who applied math as a response to various challenges in the world. Math acts as a gateway of opportunity for our aspiring students. There are many ways to make a difference in the world, and it is true that not all are related to math. However, I value giving each student the same opportunity to get to be involved in the fields of work that require mathematics. I myself benefitted from a good high school and college math education that allowed me to become a math teacher even though I did not ever think I would do so. All of my students should get that same chance. It would be a shame to open that gateway to some students and close that gateway to others.
