Middle School Teacher

 

Name: Heather Hoy

 

Position:  Middle School Mathematics

 

Number of Years Teaching:  7

 

Background:  Heather Hoy knew she wanted to become a teacher from the moment she stepped into a classroom when she was four years old.  Heather spent most of her childhood days playing “school” with her neighborhood friends, teaching them the concepts she had learned in her classes.   As she progressed through her education, Heather became aware of her strengths in mathematics which led her to direct her studies toward mathematics education.  She earned a degree in secondary education from Concordia University, Chicago and began her career teaching mathematics at Walther Lutheran High School in 1996.  Heather took a leave from teaching to begin raising her family in 2001.  She and her husband, Blair, now stay busy trying to keep up with their three children, Ione, Aaron, and Andrew. 

 

Heather came back to the classroom in 2011 when she was asked to teach one period of math at Zion-Concord.  Since then, her responsibilities have increased to three periods of math each day for grades three through eight.  Heather also runs the game club at school, co-teaches the 5th through 8th grade Sunday School class, and plays in the church’s handbell choir.

 

Teaching Philosophy:  Heather has worked to develop a curriculum with an emphasis on the educational theory of differentiated instruction.  This philosophy allows for students to be grouped not by their age or grade level, but by their current mathematical ability.  Because everyone learns at different speeds, Heather instructs students at their own pace while still challenging them to grow.  This allows accelerated students to explore advanced concepts while providing a stronger foundation to those with weaker math skills.