Crystal Lake math teacher aims to inspire, whether in classroom or horse-riding arena

From horseback riding to geography, world history and mathematics, Amber Bauman has spent almost a lifetime teaching.

Bauman is both owner and a trainer at Valley View Acres, located between Woodstock and Crystal Lake, and also a sixth grade math teacher and track coach at Hannah Beardsley Middle School in Crystal Lake. She said that whatever she’s teaching, she keeps it simple.

“I love it when somebody says, ‘Oh, my god, I get it!’ ... When all of a sudden it clicks,” Bauman said. “I always use the KISS method: keep [it] super simple. Why do we have to make life so hard? It doesn’t have to be hard.”

For example, when “mathing” in the classroom, as she calls it, Bauman can see that some students grasp a lesson easily while others struggle. So she tries to find creative ways to teach using pop culture and real-life scenarios.

“Some kids are just gifted naturally, and they are always going to be intrinsically motivated to learn,” she said. “But some kids, my daughter included, struggle.”

Last year, with a $500 grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution, of which she is a member, Bauman bought little wooden model houses. She had all 108 students from her four math classes construct them to scale and create different subdivisions.

“I love it when somebody says, ‘Oh my god, I get it!’ ... when all of a sudden it clicks.”

—  Amber Bauman, who teachers both middle school math and equestrianism

The project involved students performing tasks such as calculating exact measurements, researching city ordinances and learning how far houses have to be set back and how many could be built in a particular square footage, she said.

Yes, the students had fun while learning math skills. But what was “fascinating,” Bauman said, was that some students who typically learn with ease in traditional math lessons struggled with the project, while students who struggle in traditional learning environments excelled.

“It was so empowering,” she said.

She has observed students who said they’re not good at math go on to recognize their abilities when building the houses and creating communities.

“It made me smile,” she said. “... When roles were reversed, and the student who excelled at traditional classroom math instruction said they needed help and went to the students who don’t see themselves as smart ... that was so fun to watch them use their talents.”

Twelve-year-old Georgia Pfaff of Crystal Lake recalled one lesson Bauman assigned in her class when teaching decimals. Bauman told students that they had a budget of just $50 and had to buy groceries to make a meal – a main dish, sides and dessert – for a family of six. Students had to spend the same amount on each person.

Georgia said Bauman “always keeps class fun,” explains lessons in depth, tutors and shares good stories about her life and her horses.

Georgia’s mother, Hannah Pfaff, said Bauman also communicates well with parents. She lets them know when there are tests and when tutoring is available, and sends home videos to help parents help their children.

“I met her at parent-teacher conferences, and she was a delight,” Hannah Pfaff said.

Bauman said she also uses little tricks to liven up the classroom, such as sharing bedazzled Taylor Swift pencils.

When not teaching math or coaching track, Bauman is instructing at her horse farm. She’s ridden horses since she was 8. She incorporated Valley View Acres in 1992, the year she graduated high school. During college, she would teach at her parents’ Prairie Grove farm. She bought the farm where she currently lives and teaches in 2006.

Sadly, Valley View Acres made news in 2014 when a barn fire killed 37 horses. Bauman lost 18 of her own horses, including Eve, which she bought for $82.73 with her own money when she was 10. But with support and donations from the horse community, both locally and across the country, a new barn was built.

Bauman said there is “a huge connection” between learning in the classroom and in the horse-riding arena.

“A lot of times, there could be 10 horses in the arena with 10 10-year-olds on them. ... It’s not always perfect. Learning is messy – so messy but so much fun at the same time,” she said. ”You just have to give yourself a lot of grace and say this might look like organized chaos going on, but there is a lot of learning.”

Teaching is “a system of hands-on [work] and collaboration,” she said, whether in the classroom or the arena.

Sometimes kids are scared of the horses, but once “that lack of confidence in their ability to learn” is broken, learning can begin. Like in the classroom, she enjoys seeing the sense of confidence and empowerment build in her students.

Mary Jankee of Bull Valley has taken her 14-year-old granddaughter, Violet Capra, to Bauman for lessons since she was 4. With Bauman’s instruction, Capra, who competes monthly, has won several championships in riding and jumping. Bauman helps build her riders’ confidence and encourages them to practice every day, Jankee said.

Bauman “works very well with children,” Jankee said. “She has a soft side to her sometimes, but she is pretty strict as far as the rules go and makes sure everybody is safe.”

Capra said Bauman is “very supportive,” and riding horses has helped build her confidence. Like Bauman, Capra enjoys helping and inspiring other riders and sharing her own experiences to inspire “them to do better.”

Bauman said she looks forward to each new classroom of students as well as each new riding student. Students, like horses, are all different – they have different emotions, strengths and personalities, she said.

Be it in the classroom or the arena, Bauman said her biggest hope is that her students “leave me a better human than when you came.”

“I try to teach compassion and empathy, because we all have to work together to make this world a better place,” Bauman said.