BHS Welcomes New Algebra Teacher with Relationship Focused Approach

Travis States 
Staff Writer
 The Math Department at BHS welcomed a new Algebra 1 teacher at the beginning of the school year. The name of the new teacher is Mckeyan Howell. Howell previously taught Economics at Idaho Falls High School.  Howell also used to coach football at Bonneville; however, this is Howell’s first year actually teaching at BHS. 
  Howell’s main goal for teaching at Bonneville is to, “make sure that a majority of the students hate math a little less.” He wants to make math tolerable for those who used to hate it and hopefully some will end up loving it. One of the ways Howell hopes to achieve this goal is by trying to build relationships with the students: “I try to build relationships first of all with the students [be]cause I think that is the best way to get them on your side so that they want to learn.” Math challenges students due to the mental concentration required and the abstract nature of equations. To help with these struggles, Howell tries to add characters or terms the students are more familiar with to the math problems and examples so they can better understand and relate to them. When asked how he keeps the students immersed in class, Howell explained, “I try to do a lot of examples…I work out the problems with the students, and I think it kinda builds a sense of community and a sense of unity.” By building a sense of community, it becomes easier for students to not only care about math, but to be able to focus on the math during class. To further build community and help students focus in class, Howell often engages with the students by having the class solve the math problems together. He hopes that he can utilize technology as well to help the students engage by passing an iPad connected to the projector to the students and have them write the next steps of an equation. Despite switching to an entirely new school, the change was relatively smooth for Howell as he explains, “It’s cool that over here that there is a culture of hard work.” Howell also describes his appreciation of the PRIDE matrix and how it builds respect throughout the BHS community. Overall, Howell has many plans to build community in his classroom, to keep students engaged in class, and to make math a bit more enjoyable for those who dislike it. 

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