Mathematics teacher Barbara Clanton had just graduated from four years at Princeton University as an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science major when she realized she wanted to pursue a different path. As she was interviewing for various companies, she found that her interests aligned more closely with a career in which she could coach and work with younger students. Now, after 26 years at Trinity Prep and a total of 37 years of teaching, Clanton prepares to move on to the next chapter of her life as her teaching career comes to a close.
Clanton took on her first job as a teacher at a private, all-girls college preparatory school in the state of New York, where she stayed for eight years before moving to a public school for the next three years of her career. From there, she began looking for schools near Central Florida in order to move closer to her parents who lived in the area. In 1996, Clanton began teaching at Trinity.
“It was good,” Clanton said. “There was a real Trinity family here at that time. Colleagues took time to help you feel welcome and part of the community. There was a real sense of ‘we’re in this together.’ Students and the parents and … administration, everybody. Everybody.”
Clanton said she has found this camaraderie to be one of the most memorable experiences from her time on campus, from the early-on Trinity family feeling to the seamless teamwork within the math department.
“When I had surgery, I had a ton of colleagues at my door at my house bringing me food, bringing me flowers, and that, I thought, was incredible,” Clanton said.
Throughout almost four decades as a teacher, Clanton has taught a myriad of classes including eighth-grade math, Honors Algebra, College Algebra, Honors Geometry, Honors Precalculus, AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, Computer Studies, and AP Computer Science. Of these, calculus has been her favorite subject to teach.
“Calculus is so robust,” Clanton said. “There are so many applications. It’s the pinnacle of all algebra-based mathematics, and by the time students get to calculus, they are the ones who can handle the rigor of that subject.”
While she taught her students integrals, u-substitutions and hypothesis testing, Clanton said her students taught her to take certain matters less seriously.
“Something I’ve learned as a teacher is … to relax and just enjoy where you are,” Clanton said. “Don’t sweat the small stuff … Listen, it’s fine if [students] come in two seconds late. Don’t worry about it. Be where you are. That might just come with age, I don’t know.”
Outside of her classes, Clanton also contributed to the athletics department as a coach for the girls’ softball and basketball teams. Additionally, she mentored various clubs and served as Honor Council advisor and eighth grade team coordinator.
“Which of those did I like the best?” Clanton said. “How do you choose among your children? I liked them all … It was very rewarding with the Math Counts kids. We took them to states one year. That was incredible. Honor council — just seeing the honor council students handle the honor code violations and just be so mature and with it, that is fascinating. Coaching — always satisfying.”
Clanton has made many cherished memories over her years at Trinity, from her time spent with students and colleagues to previous Headmaster Craig Maughan’s t-shirt incident in assembly. And though Clanton said she will miss the youthful energy of the students and working with math all day long, she has plenty of post-retirement plans to look forward to.
“Ultimately I want to just spend time with my wife — quality time with my wife — do some traveling, do a lot of writing, go to Major League Baseball games during our travels, and, you know, just not commute an hour each way.”
