Nazareth teacher followed in dad’s footsteps, enjoys the challenges math offers

When Bethany Mager was a girl, little did she know a family tradition would lead to a successful career as a math teacher.

During long car trips, her father Richard Mager would quiz her and sister Abby with math problems.

“My dad was a math professor. He would make [us] sit in the car and do math problems on long road trips. Nobody had an iPad then,” Mager said.

She recalled an example.

“Dad would say, ‘You are leaving this train station at 8 a.m. Your sister is leaving at nine. You’re going 70 mph.’ And we would have to sit in the back of the car and figure it out,” she said with a laugh.

Her sister is not a math teacher, but Mager, 43, followed in dad’s footsteps.

“Math was always part of growing up,” she said. “I always liked doing math.

“I appreciated math and that’s part of my job now, not just to get them ready for the AP test. Not to get an A or B in my class, but to appreciate the math even when it’s a challenge.”

Mager has become a respected and valued math teacher at Nazareth Academy, the high school she graduated from in 1999.

She previously served as chair of the math department and now teaches advanced placement statistics along with calculus AB and BC, the top two levels of calculus.

Calculus, the study of the rates of change, is not for everyone, she conceded.

“It is very difficult. I like teaching the upper level classes because I’m challenged. They ask questions. They want to learn more,” she said.

Mager especially enjoys planning lessons. She taught math for 12 years at Guerin College Prep in River Grove before joining the faculty at Nazareth where she’s in her 10th year.

“There are times I feel nothing has changed and times when I feel a lot has changed. The kids are tired of me talking about what happened in the ’90s,” she said.

“Nazareth was a great place for me and my sister,” she said. “When I was ready to make a change, it felt right to come back.”

After more than 20 years of teaching, she still gets a thrill when the message gets through to a student.

“The best is when that light bulb goes on over a kid’s head who has been struggling and has really worked hard, when you’ve helped them, when they feel confident in what they are doing,” she said.

Jessica Radogno, director of curriculum and instruction at Nazareth, said Mager “is one of the best teachers because she gets to know her students.”

Principal Therese Hawkins agrees.

“I honestly can’t imagine Nazareth without Bethany. She is such a leader in so many ways, both in the classroom and in the fuller life of our school. We can never repay her for all that she’s done for us,” Hawkins said.

Mager helps with the school’s Kairos Retreat Program, which often has weekend retreats.

“You get to know the kids better. ... Most Catholic schools have this. It’s based on the religious aspect,” said Mager, who is Roman Catholic.

Mager also serves as the faculty moderator of the Senior Board, which meets weekly.

“Our big thing right now is we’re working on prom, which [was] April 26,” she said.

Mager is single and lives on Chicago’s North Side. If the wind blows right, she can hear concerts from Wrigley Field. A Cubs fan, she often walks to the ballpark for games.

She grew up in Western Springs, which is how she wound up a Nazareth student.

When she’s not teaching or planning lessons, she enjoys spending time with friends, some of whom she met at the University of Dayton, and with her family.

“I do help my niece and nephew with math sometimes,” she said.

She has not yet followed dad’s lead by giving them math questions on long car trips. But give her time. They are in kindergarten and the second grade.