Benjamin Klumpp

Background

About Benjamin Klumpp

While teaching was not the first phase of my career, I am now very proud to be a third-generation math teacher following in my grandmother's and mother's footsteps. While a career in international teaching would never have appealed to my grandmother, my wife and I have found both personal and professional fulfillment in this community and intend to continue in this field. I am particularly passionate about the middle school age group. This is a unique time period in a child's development, and I believe it is a critical time for these students. With this in mind, I try to create opportunities to discuss goal-setting, decision-making, and the value of a growth mindset, both in and outside of the school setting. To build strong, healthy relationships with my students, I practice what I call "jovial authority", founded on positive interactions and consistency in expectations and practice. As a math teacher, it is of critical importance to me that my teaching be founded in current research. I am especially inspired by Jo Boaler's work out of Stanford University, which supports a classroom environment in which mistakes are valued as part of the learning process and students are provided opportunities for inquiry.