NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Allen Samuels CDJR Teacher of the Month Misty McCurdy is a math teacher at Reno Valley Middle School in Nickerson-South Hutchinson USD 309.
"I love that I get super close with my students," McCurdy said. "My class sizes are usually smaller than the regular class sizes so we just kind of make a little family. I do it different for both grades because I teach both 7th and 8th grade. Eighth grade I pre-teach whatever the 8th grade teacher is getting ready to teach so that my kids that I have are more confident once the 8th grade teacher starts that topic or that standard. They've seen it and then when she starts it they are kind of like light bulb moment like, oh I already know this, you know, I'm kind of ahead of the game. Seventh grade a little bit more just tutoring and working on like maybe skills from a year or two ago that they're still struggling on."
There are still some skill gaps from the COVID-19 years that McCurdy is helping fill in.
"Kids seem to struggle a lot with fractions," McCurdy said. "They just don't seem to like them and I think it's just because they don't understand the concept of a fraction early. It's hard to visualize, so that's usually the first thing that we start with is what's a fraction and what can you do with it and what's it look like and how do you add it and we just kind of go from there."
It's rewarding for McCurdy to hear from former students how they are using what they have learned.
"Just two weeks ago I was at a wedding from a retired teacher, and there was a bunch of previous students there and one of them hollered at me and said, 'Hey, Mrs. McCurdy, you're never going to believe this, I just used the pythagorean theorem recently,' I think this kid's about 25 now and I'm like 'What? Tell me all about it.' All the kids at the table looked at him and kind of started giggling and he was doing roof trusses and their number wasn't working."
McCurdy's class received Pizza from Pizza Hut and ice cream from Braum's to commemorate her award.