Roxanne Previty, Mathematics

 

Roxane Previty teaches economics at Brooklyn Tech with the benefit of tremendous real world experience. After

business school, she worked in advertising, then as CFO of the job search website Monster.com, and finally as

an equity analyst on Wall Street. But with help from the New York City Teaching Fellows program, she found

HERSELF a new job as a teacher at Brooklyn Tech. She continues to follow a non-traditional path in her teaching,

experimenting with videos that she creates herself to explain complex economic concepts to her students - here's an example:http://tinyurl.com/ngwd5cy. And for the last four years she has been teaching AP Micro as an online course

at Tech, learning about the costs and benefits of virtual learning during that process.

 

We understand your career at Tech was your second, after being CFO of Monster, Inc. Quite a transition -- what made you decide to switch, what is it like to have a second career? 

I did work in advertising for 20 years - part of the time at Monster. It is a lot of fun (and a lot of work) to switch careers. I always thought I would teach eventually. I really enjoy being a teacher.

 

Your economics course is reputed to be one of the best classes in the whole school. Why do you think it is regarded so highly? 

Tech students are very good at economics! I think students like exploring a new subject.

 

What is it like to teach a social science in a math-and-science focused school? 

Economics fits well into the strengths of Tech students. There are a LOT of graphs in Economics and strong logic skills are very helpful.

 

How do you help along that student that just "doesn't get it"?  

I have created over 100 short videos for my economics class, so students can learn or relearn outside of class. I created an app for the class so they can view the videos on their phones. 

 

What is your favorite thing about Tech, and what do you find most challenging?

My favorite thing about Tech: The enthusiasm of the students! The most challenging: It is SO loud sometimes!

 

Can you tell us about your own educational experience, which I gather includes Stanford and Harvard?  

I entered Stanford (Economics major) in the late 1970's and it was a fantastic experience. It is a great school in a wonderful setting. I am also a graduate of Harvard Business School and have a Masters in Secondary Education from Pace.

 

Do you feel your Tech students can aspire to an education like yours? 

Absolutely, there are so many great schools out there. Each student will need to find the one that is right for them.