Math Teacher Helps Student Through Glass Door, Wins Praise

As schools and colleges across the world move to online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, one teacher is earning praise for going above and beyond to help his students. In South Dakota last week, math teacher Chris Waba showed up at a student's front porch with a whiteboard and helped her through a glass door to comply with social distancing guidelines. 

On Friday, Dakota State's head football coach, Josh Anderson, shared a heartwarming photo of his sixth-grade daughter being taught by Mr Waba through the glass door after she emailed him for help. According to CNN, Chris Waba happens to be Mr Anderson's neighbour. 

When he received the email from 12-year-old Rylee Anderson, he responded but could tell she was still struggling with the problem, so he picked up his whiteboard and headed across the street to help her. 

"My 6th grader emailed her math teacher for some help," wrote Mr Anderson on the microblogging platform. "So he came over & worked through the problem with her on our front porch."

In the photo, the middle schooler can be seen holding a notebook and looking at the whiteboard her teacher brought over. The teacher, meanwhile, can be seen crouching on the floor as he fills the whiteboard with equations. 

My 6th grader emailed her math teacher for some help, so he came over & worked through the problem with her on our front porch. @Chriswaba9 , our neighbor, MMS teacher & MHS Wrestling Coach. #KidsFirst @MadisonMSNews @MarkOsports @dakotasportsnow @dakotanews_now @stwalter20 pic.twitter.com/aniqt2goPB

— Josh Anderson (@DakSt8Football) March 27, 2020

Since being shared online, the photo has received a lot of love on social media, collecting over 2,600 'likes' and a ton of comments.

"Teacher of the year! Awesome!!!" wrote one person in the comments section. "Way to go, Chris," said another. 

"I'm a better communicator face-to-face than (on) the telephone and I think students learn better that way," Mr Waba, a teacher with 27 years of experience, said to CNN. "Teachers all across the nation have been thrown into a situation like this. I think we're all more comfortable being in front of our classes and that's where we'd rather be."