“I was not the best student in math, barely getting by. I then had an excellent Algebra teacher that changed my thinking habits and created an interest in Mathematics,” math teacher Vivian Russell nostalgically explained.

Forever impacted by her own childhood role models, Russell has been that Algebra teacher for so many students in her 42 years of teaching: opening eyes, shifting perspectives, and positively encouraging them to never give up.

Starting her teaching career back in August of 1981, Russell has watched thousands of students transform before her very eyes in the classroom. She treasures the purity of learning, without the superficial nature of technology as it is intertwined into education today.

‘I love to watch students have the “aha” moment. It has been my calling to be a teacher.’

A bittersweet feeling arises within Russell when recounting the timeline of computers being factored into her teaching style and curriculum. Next was the normalization of smartphones, and today she is doing her best to try to understand the unknowns of Artificial Intelligence. Technology is everywhere we look and as much as society ignores the effects it has on our attention spans, lifestyles, and lens on learning, the implications are real and not going away. Much of the raw comprehension and focus once fiery inside students is fading into the screens they fein for each day. After 42 years of adapting to these devices and their impact, Russell is ready to let go. She is ready to pass on the educational role she so long played to someone new; everything good must come to an end.

Nonetheless, Russell will be missed by so many at Central Hardin. With over four decades of teaching under her belt, she knows a thing or two about math, and even more so, how to leave a lasting impression on her students and colleagues.

“She’s very nice,” senior Cooper Clark said. “She lets kids eat in her room during PowerHour and she is kind; she will help you whenever you need help.”

Fellow math teacher April York admires Russell for her longevity in teaching, emphasizing the unique mark on the world she made during her “full teaching career in Texas” before becoming a Bruin soon after.

“She helped design the very first Texas Instruments! So, she was teaching in Texas when Texas Instruments started making graphing calculators – this is way before the TI84 – and she went to a summer institute for teachers during one of those first years. So, she is one of the most knowledgeable public school teachers in America now about calculators. She can fix ours when they’re broken, she knows all things about all sorts of stuff about programs I don’t know, and she has a lot of wisdom.”

That wisdom has been especially helpful in mentoring some of Central’s new math teachers the past few years. York described Russell as a “safe space” for so many to let down with as they join the community, appreciating how she has chosen to end her career with a peaceful passing of the torch; or in this case, the point, parabola, and probability.

“Mrs. Russell has always been a friend. She has always been kind and helpful. Her knowledge is so extensive of math, calculators, and teaching math because she has been teaching longer than probably anyone else in this building,” math teacher Samantha Daugherty said. “She has always been adaptable to the new things, and you know, a lot of the times when people have been doing the same thing for years and years they get stuck in their ways…but she was okay with doing new things and I hope to be like that too when I’ve been a teacher for 40 years.”

Daugherty and Russell served as Math Department Chairs together, working side by side to build and adapt the way mathematics would be taught at Central. Sometimes the changes necessary weren’t the easiest route of action, but Russell was always encouraging and driven. She kept the betterment of the department as a whole in mind, acting selflessly in her decision making.

There is no doubt that she will continue to apply these admirable qualities to her goals beyond Central Hardin, but Russell also looks forward to the slower pace of life that comes with retirement. “Walking when it is cool outside” is one specific activity she hopes to wallow in more regularly. Sometimes it’s the most mundane of activities that bring us the most joy, and now is the time for Russell to indulge.

With bittersweet memories and insight that only comes with time and experience, Russell will say farewell to Central at the conclusion of this school year. These hallways will not be the same without her gentle presence, but her long-lasting legacy will live on. Now, both to those who had the privilege of learning through the lens of Russell and those who did not, she wants to leave you with one final piece of advice:

“Keep on practicing, you can do this!”