Kendra Din
Kendra
Making her start in California, Kendra has been teaching mathematics and physics in public
schools since 2004. She often changes what courses she teaches to keep herself motivated,
which she’ll be doing again at CityAsSchool. She likes to incorporate reallife and social justice
issues into her lessons, so students can relate the topics they’re learning to their own lives and
experiences. And she hopes that students will contribute to the learning process by bringing
internship challenges to class and asking realworld questions.
CityAsSchool caught her attention when she learned that it was a place for students looking
for something different than the typical schoolday structure. She immediately felt a connection
to the school and only wishes that she’d had the opportunity to attend such a place when she
was a teenager. It is her true belief that handson learning and travel are more valuable than
learning from a textbook.
Kendra grew up in a small town on the border of Mexico called El Centro, California. She knew
she wanted to be a teacher since the age of five, but before attending college to do so, she
backpacked through Europe taking advantage of her youth. Then she bounced back and forth
between the East and West Coasts and settled for a while in Southern California eventually
earning her B.A. in Mathematics from San Diego State University. She quickly decided she
prefered New York, moved here in 2006, and earned her M.A. in Math Education from City
College soon after. Now she lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and travels the world with her
husband, Mike, whenever there’s a break in the school schedule. She’s visited at least 60
countries and won’t stop until she’s no longer able to travel.
FUN FACT: Kendra’s first job was selling watermelons on a street corner with her sister, Kristi,
when they were in elementary school.