by Jeffrey Stanley

“I don’t know what it is, maybe Quaker values, but it’s different here." New Middle School math teacher Fanny Sosenke, a native of Uruguay, reflected on sudoku, jigsaw puzzles and her first month at BFS during a 20 Questions chat with Jeffrey Stanley last week

1. How long have you worked at BFS?
This is my first year. I’m one of the lucky ones.

2. What did you do before you came here?
I worked for the Princeton Review training math teachers in the Bronx. The Princeton Review has math consultants who work with teachers, giving them professional development workshops, which in turn benefits the students.

3. Did it work?
It is working, which is great. Before that I lived in Indiana teaching middle school, high school and college math. I lived in Boston and New Orleans as well teaching college and middle school.

4. Where are you from originally?
Uruguay. I’ve been here for 22 years. I came here with my husband to study. I’m an architect, that was my first degree.

5. What are your impressions of BFS so far?
I just love it. I’ve worked in seven different schools and three of those were independent schools, and the students here are nicer than any I’ve ever encountered. There’s a relationship between adults and children that I don’t see at other schools. My students will say hi to me in the hall just because I’m one of them.

6. What’s your favorite part of your job here?
The relationships with the kids. I just had a parent say recently, ‘Oh my daughter says she loves math now and she’s never said that before.’ That’s a good feeling.

7. What’s the worst part of your job here?
I don’t know yet. Lunch duty. I don’t like lunch duty. It’s one of the few times here when you have to be kind of mean. Don’t say mean, put strict.

8. Okay. What do you like to do when you’re not busting heads at BFS? Hobbies? Passions?
Jigsaw puzzles. I also used to be addicted to [math game] Sudoku but I graduated to a more difficult Japanese game called Kakuro.

9. What kind of jigsaw puzzles do you do?
I used to do real ones but it was bad for my back because you’re always bent over, so I do it on the computer now. There are websites I go to, I do it twice a day.

10. You do two jigsaw puzzles A DAY?
I’m really into it.

11. Is doing it online any different than doing a real puzzle?
My back doesn’t hurt. And online you never lose a piece and you don’t have to clean up, that’s what my daughter says. Besides, I don’t have room in my Manhattan apartment for real jigsaw puzzles. I also like movies. My husband and I see a lot of movies.

12. What was the last thing you saw?
Heading South, a French movie.

13. Tell me about your immediate family.
I have my husband and three kids. One is 22, he’s a musician, one is 18, she’s a sophomore at Harvard, and one is 8, she’s in fourth grade. She does not like jigsaw puzzles.

14. Do you have a favorite New York City restaurant?
My husband and I always go to the same ones. We like a place called Dip. It’s on Third Avenue. They have fondue and the best chocolate dessert. We go there for that.

15. The big question—desert island—what three things would you want to bring with you to survive?
My kids, my puzzles, and...I need food right? Oh, I didn’t say my husband.

16. He can be your third thing.
I’ll say strawberries.

17. What’s one thing that’s always in your fridge?
Strawberries.

18. And what’s your sign?
Gemini.

19. That’s May right? The twins.
Yes. In Chinese I’m the rat, which I hate. Geminis are supposed to be kind of restless and hyperactive which is true.