Delores Spencer has been teaching math since 1954. When she retired from her Virginia school district 30 years ago, she started tutoring students and hasn’t stopped. Now, at age 89, even in the midst of a global pandemic, Mrs. Spencer is still going strong.
Mrs. Spencer has kept up her teaching skills through her decades since retirement, even learning the new ways math gets taught. And when in-person tutoring got thwarted by COVID-19, she took it as an opportunity to reach more people through virtual tutoring.
Since last spring, Mrs. Spencer has provided math lessons online through her Math Lab on Facebook and YouTube. Each week, she posts a free, hour-long lesson on a particular math concept to help students and parents learn better.
“I just really wanted to help students get over that fear of math,” Spencer said in a video interview with Good Morning America. “So many parents and students have fear of mathematics. And it really, it’s beautiful.”
She said she wants to reach people who need tutoring but can’t afford it. “If I can find out what blocks you, then I can remove that block, and usually you don’t need me anymore until you get to another block. And that’s what real tutoring is about.”
Watch this inspiring woman in action:
Thank you, Mrs. Spencer, for showing us that we don’t have to stop doing what we love just because we get older, and for continuing to share your gift of teaching with the world.
