Ms. Janet Bryson - SPMS

When I think back to seventh-grade Honors Math, I don’t just remember the numbers on the board or the feeling of trying to get an answer to finally work out. I remember Ms. Bryson, a teacher who made math feel like something you could understand, not something you were either “good” or “bad” at. Ms. Bryson is now retired, but after talking with her, it’s so clear that teaching was never just her job, but it was who she was as a person.

During our interview, Ms. Bryson laughed when she saw one of my questions: what was your first day of teaching like? She told me she’s had many “first days” over the years. She started off in Temple City, which she barely remembers, then returned to teaching in Whittier, and finally she started teaching in South Pasadena. Each new beginning came with the same reality as she said, “the first year is always hard.” Even if you’ve taught before, you still have to prove yourself to everyone, from the students, the teachers, the parents, and to the community. She said that if I ever become a teacher, I should remember that the first year will be challenging, but it’s also the year that shapes you.

Ms. Bryson told me she was drawn to teaching because she has always loved school and loved learning. When she was younger, she would much rather tutor than babysit, because tutoring felt more meaningful and fun. She admitted that when she was growing up, she also thought teaching was considered a “good job” if you wanted to be a wife and mom, because you could be home when your kids were home. The thing that brought her back to teaching after leaving it was that she genuinely loved helping people understand through learning. She didn’t just enjoy learning for herself, but she loved making learning click for her students.

At the beginning of her career, Ms. Bryson actually taught half the day in math and half the day in English. She told me she thought teaching English was much harder, because you have to read everything students write, and so much of it is subjective. But with math, there’s a structure. Eventually, her principal told her something that stuck: it’s easy to find English teachers, but it’s hard to find good math teachers, so she became a full-time math teacher. 

One of the strongest parts of our conversation was how passionately Ms. Bryson talked about math itself. She explained that the hardest part of teaching math is getting over the belief that it’s “just hard” and doesn’t make sense. She shared a moment from working with other educators where someone said math was simply difficult to understand. A university professor she was partnering with responded by saying that if there is any subject that should make sense, it’s math, because it is a logic system. Ms. Bryson said that often the problem is that math is taught the wrong way, with endless rules, steps, and procedures to memorize without understanding. She said it breaks her heart when math is taught as “just do what I tell you and don’t ask questions,” because that’s exactly how students start believing they’re not able to do it.

Ms. Bryson told me she wanted to reach students before they decided they hated math, or before some students became overly confident just because they were fast. This is one reason that she felt middle school was the perfect place for her. She wanted math to feel accessible for everyone, not just the kids who picked it up immediately. She also wanted students to learn deeply and understand why things worked, not just how to get to an answer.

When I asked Ms. Bryson what the most rewarding part of teaching was, her answer was simple, but powerful. She said that it was when students struggled and struggled, and then finally math clicked for them. She said the students who stood out most over her forty-year career weren’t necessarily the ones who were naturally gifted, but they were the ones who didn’t think they were “good enough.” She told me about one student with an IEP who truly believed she could never do math. Ms. Bryson worked with her after school, encouraged her, and helped her find the way she learned best. Eventually, that student succeeded and later decided to write her college essay about Ms. Bryson. To have someone believe in you until you can believe in yourself is a rare kind of impact, and it’s the kind of teacher Ms. Bryson has always been.

She also talked about how rewarding it was to work with other teachers, helping them shift their mindset from “covering content” to making sure students actually understood it. One line she said really stuck with me: “you haven’t taught something unless students understand it, and unless they can do something with it.” Even in her retirement, she still has teachers who call her for advice, which says so much about the legacy she’s built. She even shared a funny moment where a teacher told her she left a strong legacy because students would sometimes say, “That’s not how Ms. Bryson told us to do it.” Ms. Bryson was proud, not because students were resisting change, but because it showed they actually understood the method and the reasoning behind it.

Beyond academics, Ms. Bryson cared deeply about who her students were becoming. One tradition I will always remember from her class is the phrase: “I am kind, I am smart, I am important.” She told me that even though middle schoolers might roll their eyes during the moment, later those times truly make an impact. For Ms. Bryson, a person’s character mattered. In her classroom, learning math and learning how to treat yourself and others well were connected. 

When I asked her what advice she would give students that goes beyond school, she shared something a counselor once told her when she was in high school, “Just remember who you are.” She said you have to remember your values and what matters most to you. People will always try to influence your decisions, especially by focusing on money, status, or what seems impressive, but the best life is one where your work aligns with who you are. She also told me that if you’re doing what you love, it won’t feel like “just work.” She admitted that teaching is exhausting and there are messy parts, like grading and paperwork. But she believes when you love what you do, you can handle the hard parts because the meaningful parts make it worth it. 

Ms. Bryson even shared a small “teaching hack” that made me smile. She admitted she was not naturally great at discipline, so her strategy was to keep students so busy they didn’t have time to mess around. One of her biggest teacher lessons came from her student teaching mentor, who told her, “Sometimes you’ve just got to go to the movies.” She explained that as a teacher, your work is never fully finished, as there will always be more to grade, more to plan, and more to improve. Her point wasn’t that teachers shouldn’t work hard, but that teachers should also take care of themselves.

When we talked about whether she would recommend teaching as a career, Ms. Bryson was honest. She said she loved teaching and can’t imagine a better job for herself, but she also acknowledged how much the world has changed. Teachers are now expected to be everything, from educators, mental health support, healthcare managers, to problem-solvers for issues that go way beyond school. Still, she believes teachers are essential, especially because relationships between teachers and students are essential. She said something that stood out to me so much, “AI can teach information, but AI cannot be a good teacher.” Teaching is not only about content, but it’s about connection, character, and helping students grow into who they are meant to be.

After hearing her reflect on her career, it’s easy to see why Ms. Bryson is the kind of teacher students never forget. Even now, she says people will come up to her at restaurants and tell her she taught them, and she laughs because it reminds her how much time has passed. But to students, she will always be Ms. Bryson. Her kind of impact doesn’t disappear when you retire, as she didn’t just teach math, she taught logic, confidence, and self-worth. She taught students that understanding matters more than memorizing, and that you are capable even when you don’t believe it yet. Most importantly, she modeled what it looks like to stay grounded in your values, to remember who you are, and to dedicate your life to helping others learn. Ms. Bryson’s legacy is clearly so vivid throughout our community, and it’s one that will continue living on through every student she taught.