Owasso High School geometry teacher Trish Bailey says her students have taught her “probably much more” than she has taught them.

“As much as I love my subject area, I love making connections with students over things they are interested in,” Bailey says. “I have learned math is important, but the connections are much more important. I think it’s a win-win situation.”

Bailey, in her 13th year in education and seventh year at Owasso, picked up teaching as a second career. She wanted to be able to spend more time with her three sons, Alex, Zach and Nicholas.

“Education was an easy choice because I loved school and I had several teachers that had inspired me,” Bailey says. “I had always thought to myself that if I was ever going to teach something, it would be math.”

“A student is more willing to put in effort in the class if they know you care about them personally.”

Bailey says teaching “creates the world we live in.”

“Most careers and talents would not be possible without teachers,” Bailey says.

Free time is hard to come by – “what is free time?” Bailey says, laughing – but she does dine some leisure in tinkering with sign production, her former career. Her favorite signs are the ones she makes for the Owasso Rams.

“I also enjoy hanging out with my two grandkids,” Bailey says. “Being a grandparent is the best job ever.”