What is a two-year college mathematics teacher? Webster's dictionary gives no clues. Is he or she a cross-breed between a high school mathematics teacher and a college mathematics professor? NO!! The two-year college mathematics teacher has very few things in common with these two sets of teachers. The two-year college mathematics teacher is a rare, distinct, and unique breed. He or she:

1. usually has at least a master's degree in mathematics;

2. teaches both developmental math courses (pre-college level mathematics) and introductory college level mathematics courses (freshman and sophomore level); and

3. understands the needs and goals of a typical two-year college student who might be an 18-year-old just out of high school and is not yet prepared for college but is attending because of peer and/or parental pressure; or this two-year college student might be a 35-year-old who is finally getting to college as her children enter high school; or this two-year college student might be a 50-year-old factory worker who, with little formal education, has high goals and ideals with a career change in mind.

The typical two-year college mathematics teacher teaches 15 to 18 credit hours per semester, with four or five preparations that might include an arithmetic course and two intermediate algebra courses (both considered developmental math courses) along with two math-for-business-and-economics courses and a calculus course (both considered college level courses). Also, the two-year college mathematics teacher has the usual out-of-class work: office hours, test and lecture preparation, grading papers and tests, college committee work, and various departmental obligations.