As far back as she can remember, Melissa Carter has had a bowling ball in her hand. The daughter of a hall-of-fame bowler, she spent a large portion of her childhood in bowling alleys. Not much has changed.
These days, though, she is most often referred to as, "Ms. Carter." Melissa is in her fourth year as a math teacher at Farmington High School. It's her eleventh year teaching between here and the Dallas, Texas area. She's a very popular teacher, too. Of all the students asked, "What do you think of Ms. Carter?" There was one response that was heard time and time again--"I wish I could have had her as a teacher sooner."
Ms. Carter teaches every math subject from Geometry to advanced-placement Statistics, including students from all four grades, 9th-12th. It's easy to see why she is so well-liked, too. "Math is scary enough on its own," she explains.
"I attempt to engage the kids--discuss things with them as opposed to talking at them." She makes it simple to understand how useful math can be in everyday life and states that she only asks that her students be willing to try.
Not only a skilled classroom teacher, Melissa has also coached bowlers who went onto receive bowling scholarships at powerhouse programs like West Texas A&M and Nebraska. "A lot of kids don't realize the opportunities that are out there for bowlers, especially for women."
Since the passing of Title IX, programs like golf and bowling have become viable avenues for females seeking athletic scholarships. Melissa garnered almost $7,000 herself in scholarship money as a youth competing in tournaments. She is currently in talks with the administration in Farmington to get a bowling team together--just one more example of Melissa's willingness to help her students any way that she is able.
Her Cardinal students are fortunate to have a teacher who doesn't have to make-up examples of where math can be useful in the real world. She simply has to point toward her favorite hobby for examples of meaningful math.
"Oh, math is everywhere in bowling--speed, rotation, angle, weight, pivot position. I'm pretty quick at adding-up everyone's scores, too." Melissa has to count pretty high when referring to her own pin-count.
This high school math teacher is touting an average league score of over 220. "Melissa Carter" is also the name atop the leader-board in both the single-game and tournament categories at Ozark Lanes in Fayetteville. She has bowled a "perfect game" (a score of 300) five times in her career; she's amassed a three-game score of over 800 four times.
"Yeah, it's nice knowing that a girl has the highest tournament score overall, I give all the guys around here a hard time about it."
One of her teammates, Ken Roetzel, is often tasked with the job of explaining to newcomers that they shouldn't feel obligated to treat Melissa any differently than any of the other players. "She's just one of the guys; she doesn't want to be treated any differently than any of the rest of us. She's not interested in being called a 'lady.'"
Last Sunday, Melissa entered a tournament in Fayetteville where a "Calcutta" style auction took place. Each player is bid upon by other bowlers, spectators, or themselves. Of the 54 bowlers present, only 16 would represent "paid-out" positions by the end of the day. Most bowlers' value began at a $20 or $30 bid; Melissa went for $80. She was the sole female in the competition.
When she isn't bowling or molding young minds, Melissa is also an avid soccer fan. She travels all over the tri-state area coaching, playing, and refereeing. She also holds the position of President for the Fayetteville Women's Bowling Association, allotting her the privilege of coordinating local tournaments and promoting the sport around the northwest Arkansas region.
Melissa's roommate and close friend, Sasha Canan, describes Melissa as, "The most highly-motivated and caring individual I know. Her vibrant, positive energy and super-positive attitude are constant."
It's safe to say Ms. Carter's students feel the same way about their anything-but-typical math teacher.
Sports on 11/04/2015