Name: Jeff Crist
Grade/Subject at what school: Sixth grade math, Westfield Intermediate School
Number of years teaching: 11
Background/Schooling (college & high school):
Westfield High School; B.S. Elementary Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette; M.A. Educational Supervision and Leadership, Ball State University, Muncie.
Why did you become a teacher? I’ve always enjoyed working with kids. As a Westfield graduate, I have many great memories from school. Many of those memories stem from teachers who not only made their classrooms fun, but also showed genuine interest in each of their students. I want to be able to provide my students with the same kind of experiences and memories.
What goals do you have for your students? I try to teach my students to be comfortable with themselves as individuals and accepting of all different kinds of people. This will boost their self-confidence and allow them to go on and achieve awesomeness.
What do you encourage parents to do at home to help their children strengthen particular skills? I always encourage parents to help their children hone their basic computation skills. When parents ask me what they can do to help at home, I also talk to them about how they can relate what skills or concepts we are working on in class to real life situations that they are experiencing at home. This not only helps students work on the skill itself, but also shows the students why it’s an important skill to have.
What is your favorite movie? Tommy Boy
Who is your favorite musician or band? Beastie Boys
What’s something your students might not know about you? In college I delivered sandwiches for Jimmy Johns on my bike.
