Melissa Rizzo, Reporter
@mrizzo_courant
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” Kindness can be found in a lot of places, but particularly in math teacher Kathryn Marhefki’s classroom.
In addition to being an excellent math teacher, what really sticks with Ms. Marhefki’s students is her kind-hearted nature. Sophomore Amy Meng, her former student said, Ms. Marhefki “is a really great person overall: she is really kind, and considerate.”
Even Ms. Marhefki herself notes her continued effort towards being the person possible, explaining that this drive truly started seven years ago. “When my oldest daughter was born, it was really a moment of ‘Who does she need,’” she said. “I have been trying to be that person.”
In doing so, Ms. Marhefki noticed a real shift in her capacity as a teacher. “I was a good teacher before that, but I think I have become a better teacher after having children,” she said.
How exactly does Ms. Marhefki display kindness?
“Since becoming a mom,” Ms. Marhefki said, “I don’t have as much time and I constantly feel slightly in the hot-mess category.” Though balancing her life as a teacher and a mom can be hard at times, this has given Ms. Marhefki a nuanced perspective, one where she prioritizes compassion.
“Offering grace to both my students and also to myself,” says Ms. Marhefki, has become a priority. “It’s okay that I’m a mess sometimes, it’s okay to not be perfect, because if you focus too much on perfection you lose sight of the progress that you have made.”
“In class I strive to model perfectly imperfect,” said Ms. Marhefki. “I even give stickers to students who find errors in my answer keys.”
This allows Ms. Marhefki to lead by example, in order to, as she says, “remind everybody that it is not ‘practice makes perfect’ but it is ‘practice makes progress.’”
Now, the only question that remains is why does Ms. Marhefki choose to be kind? In addition to her new experiences when becoming a mother, Ms. Marhefki notes that she has her parents to thank for her commitment to being a good person.
“My parents are literally the nicest people I have ever met. My father has been an EMT for somewhere between 25 and 30 years and my mother, in the time since she has been retired, has made over 200 quilts for babies in the NICU. They are just kind people” said Ms. Marhefki.
With such profound examples to follow, Ms. Marhefki has made it a priority to embody their same kindness. She says, “I kind of ask myself ‘What would they do? What would make me the best person possible like they are?’”
