Teacher of the week 1: Aimee Barkalow

Teachers are real life superheroes. Every day, CHS teachers touch the lives of thousands of students, and their work extends beyond the boundaries of the classroom. To show ways these teachers are appreciated, the Crier asked students to identify teachers that have made a real impact in their lives. A new student and teacher will be featured each week.

Maggie Jakopac

Math teacher Aimee Barkalow teaches slopes to her Calc A class.

For week one, Anisha Narain, ‘18, nominated math teacher Aimee Barkalow.

Crier: How do you feel about being a Teacher Hero?

Barkalow: I am truly honored. I am a former Conant Cougar and can remember the teachers who impacted my life, and I am happy to know that I have impacted the lives of my students.

Crier: Anisha said she appreciated your mnemonic devices to help her remember math concepts. What is your best math-related mnemonic device?

Barkalow: [For trigonometry students], when creating the graph of tangent, I like to say you should “tan” on both sides.

Crier: Since math can be difficult to understand, how do you make class easier for students?

Barkalow: I have incorporated the iPad into my lessons. I find that having pre-planned notes for students to upload into Notability is a huge time saver. We can concentrate more on the concepts rather than writing everything down.

Crier: What are some of the things you do with your family outside of school?

Barkalow: We love watching the Chicago Bears, and we go to at least one game every season and watch them weekly. For fun, my family travels to our lake house in Green Lake, WI. We love being out on our boat and tubing and water skiing.

Crier: Who is your favorite actor or actress?

Barkalow: Tom Hanks, from “Big” to “Apollo 13” to being the voice of Woody in “Toy Story.” He has stood the test of time!

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