Corinna Brathwaite, a member of the Poly Middle School Math Faculty, is a phenomenal teacher. She is fun when she’s teaching, and it is so much easier to communicate with her because of the high energy she gives to her students. We never knew a teacher like Brathwaite existed, and now I know that teachers can be enjoyable. If you have already found a teacher as wonderful as Brathwaite, consider yourself lucky, just as I do, and preserve as many moments as possible.
Brathwaite is from Honduras, Belize, and Garifuna…
Brathwaite states, “Yes, I’m [a] first-generation American. I was born and raised in the Bronx, NY.” According to Brathwaite, she learned to teach at University and Cuny Graduate Center. “I learned how to teach math at Adelphi University and CUNY Graduate Center.”
When asked if she was good at math as a child, Brathwaite said, “Yes and no. I had an opportunity to advance only because there weren’t enough kids for the class. While I loved math, the teachers felt my scores weren’t high enough for me to be successful. They gave me a chance. I was bummed that I was only invited so the other “better” students could have a class, but I took it as a challenge to teach myself so that I [could] prove them wrong. As an adult, I still say—give me a textbook, and I’ll get it.”
According to Brathwaite, she learned math throughout her schooling and in the summer camps she participated in. “I also learn math while teaching it. I often learn how my students learn a concept when they share it with me. Sometimes, they call a method by a different name, and I get to understand how they do a problem.”
Brathwaite asked what schools she taught at before Poly and said, “I taught at many different schools before Poly Prep. I was working from home for an online education company before returning to teaching in the school building here at Poly Prep.” Brathwaite added that the first grade she ever taught was a sixth-grade class. “I started at Poly last year as a maternity leave teacher in the fall semester for middle school and spring semester for upper school.”
Lastly, we asked Brathwaite if she makes math so fun in class. She told us, “You would have to ask the students… They say it’s because I’m honest and I give you time to talk and work with each other through the problems. So far, you like the projects, and we try to bring in games…Students taught me to be a game person… [and] I’m having a lot of fun with it.”
Word Of the Week Goes To . . .
- BRATHWAITE!!!
Brathwaite now holds the word of the week!!! It was passed to Brathwaite by Ruby Clarfeld, our classmate, who got it from Chris Tutolo, our French teacher. Now, there is not much to talk about, except for one thing . . . WHO WILL GET IT NEXT? WHAT WILL THE NEW WORD BE???
The next word of the week was given to Gabriel Arrington.
What is the word of the week?
The word of the week happens every Day 4 in Forum. Forum is what Middle School students have. In the Forum, we discuss the election, we talk about school rules like starting to clean up commons and the Blue Devil Deli, and lastly, we talk about the word of the week. The word of the week is passed down from faculty member to student, faculty member to student, and faculty member to student until the end of the year. For example, last year’s word ended in “slay.” Another thing is that the Middle School only found out last year’s word this year in our first Forum.
