Esther Chapman, Teacher Extraordinaire

 Watching Esther Chapman, clad in her typical college attire, at work is a lot like watching the energizer bunny in action with brains.

Chapman looks like a student, being youthful and small of stature, but when she is in front of the class, you get caught up in her enthusiasm and knowledge of mathematics.  Amazed by the information Chapman imparts in such a fast-paced fashion, it is surprising how much of that information is being comprehended.

Esther is an exceptional teacher.

Chapman takes the time to make sure she is familiar with each student's name and schedule time to help whenever needed.  Using the best interactive slide system, Chapman puts the problems on her interactive slide show and helps the student understand the answers, making sure all students participate in the class.

Sharon Rodecap, Mathematics Department Chair, who has known Chapman for about two years, said, Chapman, “is never content to do the minimum, always goes above and beyond what is required of her.”  Rodecap described Chapman as creative, very energetic and always positive, the “cheerleader of the students”.

When asked about Chapman as a teacher, James, a student in her class, said, “I felt a little like an experiment in how Esther Chapman is planning on directing future classes. Which is alright in my opinion, but it does make things hard. For instance she wants to throw a lot of activities, worksheets, chapter reviews, brush-ups, tests, journal entries, and now a proficiency test at us.”

James, also, said, “I like the positive and energetic way she describes math to the class.”

We agree that Chapman is very strict, when it comes to rules in her class but this is the very nature of mathematics.  But this is a good thing as the student is ready to go on to the next step successfully.

 However, her class is not a class you can miss or stop doing the homework or special projects.

James said, Chapman “really wants to make math exciting and fun to learn and it shows in her presentation.  She's very clever in how she deals with homework as well. Assigning a homework but only requiring you to show 2-3 problems she picks out that you've done allows her to lower the demand of how much work she has to check, while still making it so you have to do all of the work.”

Brie Wood, in math angle in the Learning Center, said Chapman is a great tutor and very helpful to students at the Math desk.  Wood has known Chapman two years and said she is very well-rounded in physics, chemistry, as well as math.  Chapman is always enthusiastic, loyal and dedicated, according to Wood.  Wood sees Chapman as a very caring person, who values her friends.

What’s not to like.  Ben, also at the math angle, agrees that Chapman is a great person and teacher and a great asset to the math department.

Not afraid to admit when she has made a mistake, Chapman is the epitome of a good leader and teacher, by putting learning first.

Esther Chapman, mathematics teacher, is very active in her church.  When she is not tutoring math and physics, which is her major, Chapman likes to veg out and stay pretty low key.  The other activities she enjoys are dancing, socializing with her friends, jewelry work, and artwork.
m called optimath with older people, where she excelled.

After taking astronomy in high school, Chapman realized that math, astronomy, physics, and chemistry are all related.  Coming to LBCC, Chapman was a full-time tutor and was encouraged by teammates to go for the mathematics teacher position, which she got.

Chapman, a joy to behold, is one of the most positive and knowledgeable teacher at this campus.  She shows each day why math is important in our life on campus and at home.