Letters from Students 2020

I spent 4 years not in a traditional classroom. This year I returned and had very challenging school year. To add to that it finished with a pandemic and teaching on-line. But I still asked my kids to write a letter at the end of the year. Letters were typed this year so I was able to accurately preserve all of the original text, for better or worse. This is what they had to say:

Dear Mr. Burrill, Thank you Mr.Burrill for everything you did for me this year. In the beginning of the year my grade was not good at all but you kept pushing me to better and helped me succeed. Thank you for the tutoring sessions that you held because after I went to one of those I had improvement in my grade and was doing much better then before. Math will never be my favorite subject but thank you for making me work and not giving up on me. I will remember those tutoring sessions for the future because if you get help on something you struggle in you can still succeed. So in all I thank you Mr.Burrill for everything you did for my classmates too because for some of the things you did they probably succeeded. Sincerely, JB

Dear Mr.Burrill Thank you for always making us laugh. I've had a lot a fun before but never like this, it is hard to think that I am not gonna see you in middle school anymore but I can still drop by to say hi. I wasn't great at math but you helped me become who I am, a good kid. I enjoyed the whole class, it made me happy to think that I get to go to the class that a like. I will miss you and so will the whole class. This doesn't mean the end but goodbye. Sincerely, AC

Dear Mr.Burrill, This must have been a crazy first year for you. I know I enjoyed it. Must have been lucky to get the best math teacher two years in a row. My favorite part of the class isn't just one thing. I enjoyed a lot of things. Stories, player and coach, secret competitions with others classes. Everyone loved that class. We all got along so well. I'm am upset that we didn't get our party because I'm pretty sure we won. We never got to meet your wife either. The year ended at the same time it did last year, but for whatever reason it felt shorter. Now it's almost over. This isn't goodbye for all of us. Just for the ones who have the AUDACITY not to come visit when schools reopen. This will not end in the word goodbye, but in the word soon. Why? Because that's when you'll see us again. Soon. Sincerely, N

Dear Mr. Burrill,  They say all good things must come to an end. And they’re right. I truly hope my high school year will be as exciting and enjoyable as you have made this year for me. You have earned a special place in my memories and I will never forget you. You've truly made a difference in my life. I mean you have to be one of the coolest math teachers. Not trying to make it up or sound like anyone else you are.   Even though it seems like I don't like your class or I'm annoying and talk back too much (sorry I'm a little crazy and I do fully apologize for how rude I was ) you really are an awesome Teacher and you have always heard me and helped me even when I did not deserve it. Your class was funny, loud, crazy, but sometimes it could get boring and dull but somehow you pulled us back to your attention. I can also proudly say that you are NOTHING like Mr. Smallwood. Your class was enjoyable. Finally i just want to say in your class i actually understood what you were teaching.                  So Mr. Burril Thank you for being my math teacher. For being accepting, Kind, Funny, Chill, and letting math be fun. I hope you get your own classroom so you can express yourself.  I know i've said this 1000 times but thank you sooooo much for being my math teacher. I will miss you. Sincerely,  (MW)

dear mr. burrill, this year we long and difficult and we had our ups and downs but i can genuinely say you were good to me you put up with my bs even when i was hard to deal with and you and i both know i had my moments. but you made the year fun and and eventful and for that i thank you. you are kind , strong, funny, and a good teacher. thank you and i appreciate you for being patient with me through it all . thank you take care be safe and have a grate summer. sincerely- SC

Dear Mr. Burrill, despite me not really taking a liking in math I really enjoyed being in this class. I also learn a lot of math. This is probably by far one of my most favorite classes because it never gets too boring, I get to learn some math (math actually is fun once you know how to do it), and it's just before lunch! --A

Dear Mr. Burrill, One thing I really liked about being in your class is how you told stories. I say this because they helped us learn more about you and it gave us a chance to have little breaks in between lessons. Something I learned from you is to have confidence. You always called me a great student saying ""I could do it"" when I didn't think so myself. It really helped me look at the positive side of things. Something I will always remember is ""y to get over your x"". It's honestly pretty funny. Something I've never had the chance to tell you is that I'm shy and that adds on to the reason why I didn't ask for much help from you. Sorry about that. Anyways, I will always be glad that you were my teacher and I was your student! Sincerely, SC

Dear Mr. Burrill, Your class was super fun and I really enjoyed it. After lunch, I always looked forward to going to 6th period. I'm going to miss all the crazy stories that you would tell us. They were truly interesting and very weird. I learned lots of stuff I wouldn't have been able to learn last year. You're definitely a better math teacher then my 7th grade math teacher was. The way you taught and how you asked if we had questions was really helpful. You were like a friend to me. I felt comfortable asking you for help and I felt comfortable enough to participate which I rarely do. Your class was really like no other. It was both entertaining and educational at the same time. I think It's really funny how you'd get off track and start telling us about your life. You telling us about your life made me feel more comfortable in the classroom and made me feel more at home. Thank you for the great year in your classroom and I will forever remember it. Sincerely, SV

I really loved this year and it sucks that I couldn't be there to say my farewells. I really liked how everyone could be themselves in your class. I have learned a lot of skills while I was in your class and also to not give up on anything that's hard. I will remember all the laughs and stories that we have shared throughout the year. I will also remember the important lessons you have taught us this year like there is a time to joke around and a time to be serious. Anyway I will miss those memories thank you for them. Goodbye Sincerely, AA

Dear Mr.Burrill, Hey, Mr. Burrill I just wanted to start off by saying thank you for everything you have done for me this year. You have provided me with a lot of help this year, and have helped me gain confidences in many areas, such as, communicating with my group, independent work, and staying focused when in time limited tests. Not just in math have you been good, you have been fun to be with in advocacy as well, all the games we played and rallies we went to were fun. Thank you again for everything you have done, stay safe, and enjoy the rest of your day. From SS

Hi Mr.Burrill, I just wanted to say I loved your class. You were the first teacher I had met on my first day and you were super nice to me. You made me understand the lessons more and gave me more opportunities even though you never needed to and I am thankful for that. If you didn't let me redo the assignments that I had not done my grade would.ve still been horrible and I would've been super stressed. So thank you, thank you for being super chill about it as well. Much love and to be honest, you were my favorite teacher!!!  - MB

Dear Mr. Burrill, i would like to start off with a amazing year that i had. The things i have learned and the success that i earned. It is sad to see a wonderful teacher leave my journey. I would like to thank you for teaching me new ways to solve math problems. The thing that i would never forget is the drawing challenge that you did with us. I will go to MT for one year and i hope you can one day go see one of my soccer games that i will have in the future. I want to say that you are a great teacher and to not let anyone tell you that you are not good enough or that you cant do it because i believe in you. Thank you for taking your time to listening to this paragraph that i made for you. Goodbye Mr.Burrill. sincerely, LA

Dear Mr. Burrill What I've learned in this class is that math is for everyone. Also that there is no such thing as a "math person." Sincerely, DF

Hey Mr.burrill i just wanted to say good-bye, thank you for everything you've taught me, you were an amazing math teacher.  I had a lot of fun in math class with you and the other students, they sure made me laugh. Im pretty sure the 7th grade students will love you. It kinda sucks how we have to spend the end of 8th grade like this. But otherwise then that i hope you'll have an amazing day and a awesome year.                                                                                                                                                           By: AT

Dear Mr. Burrill, I just wanted to say thank you for putting up with our class period. I get that we were the loud type and misbehaved a lot, and seeing you deal with that everyday was just so astonishing. You had a lot of patience for us. This year in your class I learned lots of math related things (of course), and I also learned lots of life lessons? I enjoyed the story telling and the bond we had as a group. Math was one of my favorite classes, believe it or not. It was a very chill and relaxing environment to be in, and it made me comfortable. Again thank you for putting up with us. I appreciate your effort and I will never forget you as a teacher. Even though our class was probably not the best class ever, I'm sure all of us had fun. Hope your next year's classes won't be as bad as us. (,: Sincerely, KT

Dear Mr Burrill, Math has been my least favorite subject until I began your math class. The thing that I'll remember the most is you Mr Burrill, because our grades have gotten better in your class. You actually won't be so serious all the time and you won't have us dislike you because you were always kind and nothing ticks you off easily. Sincerely, your future scholar DT

What I think that is important is that you stay the way you teach, and tell your students stories. and the way you interact to your students. What i'm basically saying is to stay yourself.    All in all, I really had fun in your class and learned so much at the same time, thanks for being the most funniest, coolest, and nicest teacher I had in 8th grade. Sincerely, JE

Dear Mr.Burrill,            Some things I learned in your class are for one I learned things in your class that I was supposed to learn in 7th grade. Like integers and volume. I liked how out of all of my math teachers I actually understood math for the first time from your class. I will be scared that I won't understand anything in high school.   Somethings about myself, math has never been my strong usually I would get B's. But this year, my 8th-grade year I actually understood and got A's. this math year was really fun because I understood and my friends were in that class which made it even better. I enjoyed your class because you taught differently from other math teachers which gave me a way to understand what you taught.   I still can't believe this is goodbye. I don't want it to be because I am scared to grow up and be a high schooler but I guess life doesn't give you much of a choice. I'm gonna miss you and my 8th-grade math class, Mr.Burrill. Keep teaching and having fun, you really helped me and I appreciate it. So thank you. Sincerely, KMG

Dear Mr. Burrill, thanks for being an amazing teacher, I really enjoyed my 4th period class. I learned so many lessons and ways to solve any math problem. My favorite memory in class was when we did the white board competition. I am really going to miss 4th period. I had so much in that class and met so many amazing friends. sincerely~ MJ

Dear Mr. Burrill,    This year was a great year being in your classroom. I had so much fun and I am going miss your class specifically because we had so much laughs together. Something I appreciated about the class is that everyone was down to earth and everyone had so much humor. It didn't make me feel worried when I walked inside your classroom. Something I learned in your classroom is to let loose and take steps by steps because in all my other classes, I was really stressed going into the classrooms but I knew that your class would be easy to handle because you know how to make us less stressed and you don't put everything on our plate like all the other teachers and I am very grateful to have you as my last period bc I would probably be stressing and asking a lot of questions. Something I will remember is your story times and when someone gets in trouble, we make it fun and when you put someone on blast. Another thing I will always remember is you forgetting where your water bottle is and those days where you kept coughing. I will always remember the little things. Something I think is important about our class is that we were that talkative class and I feel like that's what made us like you a lot because you aren't strict and thank god you aren't because I would be scared to even talk to you but the importance about our class is that our class is like no other class, like we are one odd class, we talk when we want to, we listen when we want to and that is very weird of us. Another thing that is important to me is that you were a very understandable teacher and you provide us with anything you can to be pass 8th grade and I think you achieved that because you were really a great teacher. Something about me that I never told you is that I am a very stubborn person.  Something I want to say since we can't say goodbye in person is, be safe, you are appreciated by so many students and you did your job really well. Sincerely,              JT

Dear Mr. Burrill, i have enjoyed being in this class.  I really liked the art contests after we would finish our test. I will miss the laughs that the class and I had. Everyday i thought i would fail math, but the new friends I've made in your class helped me through it.  Now that I am out of your class, i would and could say your class is was a breeze but we know that's not true LOL! It was hard and difficult, but i had a great teacher and great friends. -L

You were one of the best teachers at that school and I'm going to miss our class. - MC

Dear Mr. Burrill I learned that I could like math and that I just needed a good teacher to teach me. I enjoyed being good at a subject for one and that I could help someone with math. I am very happy that I had this class and very thankful to Mr. Burrill. I am very sorry that I have not been trying this term. I am just horrible at online class and that is only on me and I know I can do better and I am disappointed in my self.Thank you for all you have done sorry I couldn't be better this term. " -A

Dear Mr.Burrill I have been very honored and happy to be in your class as your first year teaching at Edward Harris. You have helped everyone succeed in the class and also adapted to the family at our school. You are a very good teacher putting your time to help kids after school instead of doing your own things. I thank you for being the best teacher you can be even though you did not have your own classroom and hope that you do get one soon. I have learned a lot in your class things that do not even included math and things that are important in life. Something I never had the chance to tell you is that is thanking you for putting time and effort in me to be me as a math student in 8th grade. I only liked a few people in our class but it was still fun. Even though your rules were different and you methods of solving problems you taught me new things. Also that you always want everyone to be a part of what we are doing. Even though our class was loud you have always kept your cool. You did some things teachers would not do but it is worth it. Stay safe and keep doing what your doing.                                                                                                                      Sincerly, MS

Dear, Mr.Burrill    I had a great time in this class and really enjoyed having your first year at EHMS with me. Even though you were new to technology and how the school works you were still having a positive attitude to everything and was getting used to the material instantly. You had funny stories to tell us and that's one of my favorite parts of class I also had lots of people I knew that I could talk to and I wouldn't be in trouble. In sum, you were by far one of my favorite teachers that I had because of all of the help that you actually gave me like some teachers they don't help at all and I am very grateful for having you as a teacher and as a helper. -DP

Dear Mr. Burrill,          I am glad you were patient with us and helped our class. I'm glad I was in your class for my last year at Edward Harris. Something I hope you keep for next year's class was your teaching methods. It made it really easy to understand math and the daily warm-ups helped a lot. I liked the notebooks and rally coach. I also really liked your stories and jokes. I'm happy you shared some of your life with the class. With much appreciation, DO

Dear Mr. Burrill, I want to start off by thanking you for a super fun year, and making it a really comfortable to be in the class. I always felt like it was way more entertaining when we were learning a new subject. I always felt welcome in the class and when we would do any type of group projects. Every time we would do any type of partner work or group work everyone was so helpful and talkative, and the lesson was usually set up very well. And even though the class was really talkative, it was a great and accepting class and environment to be in and it eventually became one of my favorite classes to engage myself in. It was even better that everyone got a long and there thankfully wasn't too much arguing or crying in the class and it was just such an amazing class to be in. You taught very well and with such enthusiasm and it made the class 10x better. Thank you for the amazing year!                   Signed, GH

Dear Mr. Burrill, It’s been a wild ride in middle school. Full of laughter, fun, and absolute chaos. Memories I will miss here in EHMS, and memories I hope to make when I get to high school and so on. I feel very sad to be no longer a member of this class. This class was the most energetic and fun class. Full of amazing people such as yourself. I appreciate the hard work and time you have put in to us to help us become successful. I will cherish these bits of moments forever. It only seemed like yesterday that this was our first day. Realizing this was our last. I hope reading this doesn't make you sad. I hope you reading this. Will always make you remember the class of 6th period math class of 2019-2020. The class that gets lively after lunch. And smile. And I say with great sadness, “Goodbye.” I am honored to be a student of yours, and I hope you have a great summer. Sincerely, AK

Dear Mr.Burrill, I had a crazy year and had fun but now it’s time to say bye to you. I appreciate you always letting me to try on things in class and let me be where i wanted when it came to sitting in the front because when i was in front of the class i was learning and kinda made me want to keep going because i was doing good but then i came in some days not having the best days but i should’ve kept working but i just let my grades drop which i shouldn’t have. I loved how the class got along and was always kinda just having a good time even when it did come to school the class was trying after all you did for us to actually start paying attention. We for sure were a lot to handle and you managed to handle us the right way and figure it all out you were new and it wasn’t easy just happy you got use of it and the hang of it. We’re all going to miss coming to second period with you especially since we had you all year and not the other classes. I’m happy we are at the end of the year and finally getting summer but i will miss my teachers. I hope you have a good summer and fabulous rest of the years you work as a teacher for school. You can do this and be the best teacher to everyone else just as you were for us. We all enjoyed being there even if it felt like we didn’t . You gave us days off of homework when needed and i liked how it was like we had a choice like not have homework because we needed to practice more that always helps me and others in the class.                                                             Now, it’s come to the end of it and now it time to say all the goodbyes. I just wanted to say that i thank you for all the help you had given and all the days you delt with each and every one of us that had bad days and was giving you a hard time that you’re good teacher . Thank you for everything you did this year we will miss you . have a good rest of your life and I hope to see you at a different school or something again bye.                                                              -JB

Will you ever have the separate classroom to Ms. Siggard? The world may never know. -JC

Dear Mr. Burrill,        It was a good year with you. I am sorry that you had to send me to R.P a lot but I did learn my lesson. I have enjoyed math a lot more now. It is hard for me to stay focused but in the end I did end up getting my work done. I want to thank you for being my teacher. It was a good year with you.                                                                                                     Sincerely, DJ

dear mr,burrill good bye -E

Family Poker

Article by William Abernathy, 2/1/2002

Many of our acquaintances - perhaps even most - consider poker a vice. My wife and I call it a family value. We play Texas hold'em almost every Friday night with our children. Our house motto is, "If you have a chip and a chair, you have a chance."

The primary advantages that poker has over other games is that it gives instant feedback for poor decisions, allows for mistakes during play, and although chance or luck is involved, chance plays a smaller role. In chess and checkers, one poor play can lose the game. In poker, one poor play costs a person the hand, but it seldom costs that person the game. In Life and Monopoly, luck plays too large a role: When faced with a row of hotels, Monopoly doesn't allow a person to fold. We use poker to instill persistence, as everyone has won a game after going all in. Again, "If you have a chip and a chair, you have a chance."

From our children's perspective, poker is tremendously different, because we pay them if they can beat us. Paying for success began when we had an epiphany that we could spend less money per weekend while enjoying our family more if we put up prize money. We currently have six players (Shades, Shark, Jelly, Stretch, Ammo, and Cato the Younger), and pay cash to whomever places in the top three. Paying for success means that the kids get additional spending money, we spend less per weekend when compared to movies and meals in restaurants, and we have much more interaction with our kids than if we were watching television like mute zombies.

After playing poker for a year, we've learned that we can instill our family values while dealing the shovels, jewelry, lovelies, and puppy tracks. We've used our poker games to teach the difference between possible and probable, counter the school's "all are equal" mantra, properly define prejudice, and, believe it or not, hammer home the unpleasant side of teen sex.

Poker has allowed us to condense our lessons about life in ways that we didn't foresee. We were able to teach, and continue to teach, that we want our children to reach their maximum potential, even if it means being better than we are. In the beginning, the kids thought that our poker advice was condescending. Jelly once told Shades, "Just because you have all the money doesn't mean that you know more." Shades replied through a laugh, "It means exactly that."

Poker has allowed us to teach our children that our advice is heartfelt and usually correct, that our values lead to success and happiness, and that we want them to have great lives. Our poker advice was to fold sooner, fold more often, and bluff occasionally. After giving our advice a try, all of them have won more money. We told Stretch to accept that when her bluffs are raised, she should fold. She does, and has become dangerous. We use the success of our poker advice as evidence that, just as we have never misled them in poker, we will never mislead them in life. Our advice is honest and well-meaning.

When we first began playing more than a year ago, Shades won 50 percent of the games and Shark took two-thirds of the remainder. The kids were losing because they lacked the ability to distinguish between what is "possible" and what is "probable." For example, they kept tossing in their money when they had three cards to a flush after the flop because they believed winning was possible. After putting their knowledge of fractions to use, they now know that they will lose more than 20 hands before they get their cherished flush. Possible isn't synonymous with probable. After grasping this concept, the kids realized that they didn't have enough money to lose 20 hands to win one.

After stumbling onto the fact that we could use our poker games to teach family values like persistence, unselfish advice, and the difference between possible and probable, we started actively searching for other lessons. Did I mention that our family has four daughters?

We linked the poker practice of bluffing to relationships. In short, boys bluff. Shades told the girls that he was the best bluffer because he was a boy, and boys have a natural ability to lie to girls. (Our current poker games consist of four girls and two boys.) Shades told the girls that boys would forever be telling them that they should get naked together if they are in love. But, it's a bluff, a lie, a prevarication. Boys bluff about being in love and they bluff well. Shark told the family about how many times she went on only one or two dates because she remained clothed. The boys always told her how much they wanted to be with her, but when she kept her clothes on, they stopped asking her out. We tell all the children that if a person really loves them, they will love being with them while their skin is covered with cotton. Shades told the family that all too often, boys view getting girls naked the same as they view a poker game: Bluffing is required and rewarded. Every once in a while, to keep the pain fresh, Shades shows his cards and brags about besting someone with a bluff. Since everyone hates losing to a bluff, Shades does it to hammer home the point that getting naked with someone who is bluffing feels a hundred times worse.

Our time together at the table has taught us that today's schools teach only two relationships: 50-50 and 100-0. In the beginning, the kids were wholly unable to understand the concept of 10-1 odds or 2-1 odds. The cards were either good or bad, 100-0. If deemed good, they were all equally good, 50-50. Cato was persistent in always putting in money to see the flop. Her reasoning rang with the sound of a school lecture - "All cards can win." We could hear the refrain of a teacher - "All people are equal." Sadly, Cato lost lots of poker games before she stopped believing that all cards are equal before the flop. Our family does not pretend that we are equal. We recognize and praise each family member's individual strengths, like Jelly's outstanding drawings and Cato's wonderful writing. We have used poker to counter the public school's mistaken mantra. All cards are not equal and neither are people.

Prior to playing poker, we had had discussions with Jelly about her choice of "friends," with less than desired success. When we told her that she should stop being friends with people who get poor grades, she told us that we were prejudiced. She absolutely could not understand the concept of judging people based on their actions. To her, any and all judgments were examples of prejudice. Poker has allowed Jelly to better understand us. To break a losing streak, Shades told her to fold when her cards were lower than tens. He hammered home that it was necessary to make poker decisions with limited information. Eureka! Getting bad grades is limited information, just like having only two cards out of seven. She has vaguely come to understand that her parents were not "prejudging;" they were "post-judging," making decisions with limited information. She now understands that her parents believe bad grades are enough information to warrant a decision. We no longer face the "you're prejudiced" argument when asking her to make decisions about people. Poker has taught her to make predictions with limited knowledge.

Our only remaining major advantage over the kids is our ability to read tells. (Shades, a.k.a. Dad, has this moniker because he put on a pair of sunglasses when the kids complained that he was staring at them.) Here, too, we have shared our knowledge with the kids. First, decide whether players are acting. If they are, they are doing the opposite of what their cards say they should. Acting weak means strength, while acting strong indicates weakness. The kids are listening and learning. Stretch recently told Shades, "I know you are weak because you are calculating whether to call my bet. When you are strong, you call quickly. When you are weak, you calculate." She was right. Ammo told him in a different game, "Dad, you had a look. You're bluffing." Ammo raised, and Shades lost.

If you are tired of board games and TV, have a couple of hours before bedtime, and enjoy teaching your kids how to live a proper life, play a little Texas hold'em. Our starting stake is 25 times the beginning maximum wager. We double the limits every 30 minutes. At the 90-minute mark, the game becomes pot-limit. If a game lasts two hours, we go no-limit. Almost all games last between one and a half and two and a half hours. Play a few nights. You will discover that it is a great way to instill family values

Dreaming

Last week I had a dream. I was at South Hills, my old church, sitting up in the upper level during some giant circus event. First, I was watching my brother successfully shoot bowling balls off the upper deck into basketball hoops, but then I got up to go to another section to watch the rhinos shooting bowling balls off the balcony into basketball hoops.

So basically pretty normal stuff, and then I went back to my seat.

When I returned to my seat Brian Brown was there. He had seen me from across the way and came over to say “hi.” That is really about all I remember from the dream.

It has been nearly 20 years since I’ve seen Brian and I can’t even recall the last time he has entered my mind. So I’m not really sure why or how he entered my dream. But from that point I did the only logical thing. The next morning I contacted Ryan Paterson on Facebook and asked if he had any idea as to Brian’s whereabouts. Turns out they are in a monthly poker game and Ryan gave me his e-mail.

So this afternoon I met up with Brian after work. Let me tell you it’s hard to catch up 20 years in only 2 hours, but we did our best.

In summary:

We both have kids ages 7 and 9. We both have wonderful wives that are great to raise children with. We both are teaching. And we both play in a regular monthly poker game with friends.

2015 Student Letters

So once again my students have reminded me why I keep returning to the classroom each year. This job continues to be draining, so the affirmation from my students is what drives me to keep going. Again this year I had all of my students write me a letter at the end of the school year. Here are excerpts from many of their letters. I tried to include the ones that were most thoughtful, kind and encouraging-- or in some way made me laugh. In the order in which I read them:

You can be witty at times, and at other times quite scary. I hope I can have you next year.

You were the most exciting teacher, because I never knew when you might explode or throw a marker at someone, or stand on a chair and move your arms a lot while you yelled. I think you made coming to this class every morning kind of unique and in a way my 7^th grade year. So, thanks for being cool and funny and yeah.

p.s. you made it fun to learn some of the hardest stuff ever.

One last thing I want to thank you for is pushing me to do my best and never give up and for that I am thankful.

Also, I’m sorry, but first period is just the easiest to ditch.

You’ve shown me how to make complex math seem simple. I like how you always got to the point with your lessons, and how you could make a serious math lesson seem funny.

You are the best teacher ever. My favorite part of your class is when you tell stories that most of the time have nothing to do with math. You’ve taught me a lot over this year and hopefully you get to be the advanced 8^th grade math teacher. If I had to choose a class to be in for the whole day it would probably be this class. Also, you are way more fun and engaging than any teach I have ever had.

You have been one of the best teachers. Not the best, but still good.

I’ve learned a lot this year though I admit the majority of the time I felt stupid and often wondered why I was in advanced math, but now I know the answer is because you were the one that inspired me to do many things….I just want you to know that many things that I’ve learned within these four walls will live with me forever. Thank you Mr. Burrill. J

I should also mention that you made math easy and fun (or at least bearable).

You have inspired me to chase my dream of going to college and doing my dream job.

I liked how you put so much love in teaching math, and had a fun time doing it.

I look up to you for taking in all of the student teachers. They are lucky to have a teacher like you to teach them about teaching. I liked in the class how you are always chill. You don’t freak out about little things like a lot of teachers. In this class I felt comfortable asking questions. If I get the question wrong I know you will teach me how to fix my mistakes. Thank you for teaching me 7^th and 8^th grade math.

Hopefully I have you as my 8^th grade math teacher because I wouldn’t want to learn from anyone else.

I genuinely enjoyed being taught in your class. It was refreshing to see everyone so enthusiastic to learn math. I thought the class had an excellent learning environment. I hope you will teach the 8+ class next year.

I never really understand what you teach, so I just look online how to do it.

Thank you for this wonderful year of math teaching. You were a very funny teacher. A lot of things you did encouraged me to want to learn more. I think my favorite part of the year in your class was around the winter because when I was cold and tired, third period would always wake me up. I wish I could’ve had you for 7^th and 8^th grade. So yea… thank you for this fantastic year, and I hope you keep teaching the way you taught us.

The best thing you ever told me was to not be so mean. And I’ve been through a lot so my initial instinct is to have an attitude. But you really taught me to be nice to people. Thank you!

Thank you for being my teacher this year for math. You have taught me a lot in math because last year I was bad at it and now I am good. Sometimes I get frustrated cause I don’t know what to do and I get mad but you still help. You are a great teacher and I’ve had lots of fun learning new thing from you! Thank you!

Everyday I went to your class and it made me realize that I wanted to do better in my life and thanks to you now I am. The first day I came to your class I was shy and scared that I wouldn’t go to high school. But you helped me go through those struggles. I now have to say goodbye to the teacher who made me a better person.

Thank you for being such a good teacher. You were very understanding and helpful during this crazy and difficult year.

Thank you for being the best math teacher in the world. Thank you for all the tutoring and help you have given me. I really appreciate it. Also thank you for making math fun and not boring.

You are the funniest, the smartest, and the most awesome teacher ever. Thank you for making this year so great.

You have really taught me things out of math and in. When people say this is what you’re meant for this is it. I really do appreciate what you did for me, you have had the biggest impact on my life outside of my family. I came into this year knowing nothing and right now I’m feeling confident about next year’s math.

You are inspiring and amazing. I don’t know why people wouldn’t like you for any reason.

Your math techniques are proper even though I wouldn’t know what proper is for math but I like it J.

This year was my favorite year in my entire life that I actually liked math class.

You were better than my 7^th grade teacher Mrs. Kosiewik because she would be doing the most with homework and your more chill and really funny your like the next Kevin Hart

You were the best teacher ever. Your funny you tell us jokes and you are always energetic even though I’ve only known you for 1 year I felt like I’ve known you forever because youre that teacher which pushes us to keep going every day and helps us succeed. I can’t wait in 20+  years where I tell my kids all about the best math teacher I ever had. And that’s you. Thank you for teaching us new tricks in math and new words tell us jokes and stories you’ll always be my #1 math teacher.

I really enjoyed this class and I wish I wouldn’t have to leave so soon. You are hands down one of the best math teachers I’ve ever had. You changed my life. Thank you!

You are the best math teacher ever. You have taught me so much stuff that I’m probably going to forget over the next 3 months. You are my second favorite teacher. Your not my first because I don’t’ like math but if you did not do math you be number one.

This year was the best year of my entire life. You are definitely by far my favorite teach of all time. Thank you so much for being my teacher.

Thank you for teaching me over the year. I hope I have you next year even though sometimes you are crazy.

I just wanna thank you for everything you have taught me. One thing that I really enjoyed was your personality. You are a very positive and wise man. When I first came into your class I just knew I was gonna like it. Mr. Burrill, you’re just a great person to be around. I was really blessed to get a teacher like you, Thank you again.

Thank you for helping me with math and for giving me life lessons along with what to remember in life. This class has been my favorite class of the year, it not only helped me with math but it lightened my day and it gave me something to look forward to. This is my best subject because of the environment I am in and I thank you Mr. Burrill for everything.

I really want to thank you Mr. Burrill for teaching me how to be confident in my math skills. Before I came to Einstein, I lacked confidence in my work but now I am helping my younger sister (and my mother) with their failing math skills. You have inspired me to be my best and that is really the best thing a teacher can give their student. Every day when I come home I am eager to share some of the stories from this class to my family and I make sure to use my “Mr. Burrill” voice as I repeat your Mitch Hedburg jokes.  I would once again like to apologize for my mother’s humiliating e-mails… she sent them without my consent. Thank you for the adventure.

Personality Test

I hope you enjoyed taking the  personality test. 

Here are the very basics to the four personalities:

Yellows: loud, open, and cluttered

Reds: high energy, bold, practical and efficient

Blues: quiet, closed, neat and tidy

Greens: cool, calm, collected and all about comfort (and those that don't fit into the other categories)  


The quadrants look like this:





The top two are extroverts, and the bottom 2 are the introverts. 
The left side tends to be more people oriented; the right side is usually more task-oriented

Most people have a primary and a secondary color with two personalities that touch each other on the chart. However, some of you will notice in your score that you have one Color that is clearly more dominant than the other three. 

This was an abridged test to make it quick and easy to do on-line. I'd love to hear your results and your feedback about the test itself. If you would like to hear more analysis or are interested in taking the complete test you can e-mail me at mr.burrill@gmail.com.

You can learn more about each personality and how to apply this information in your everyday life by reading our book Personalities for Educators.

I would also encourage you to check out Vickie's page: vickiemusni.com

And you can find her first book Personalities for Business on amazon too.

I hope you're enjoying exploring personalities and learning more about yourself and others. Look forward to hearing from you.

Please click here and share your results with us. I'm curious to see all the scores.

--Kevin

View results here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BZ7eHzqDVBgK7z3UUelPkbk0LJ7Rhs4MO6-NZjE6En0/edit?usp=sharing

Essay Interview

Toward the end of the school year I offer my students one extra credit project. The directions are to find an adult in a vocation they would want to have when they are older. Then they conduct an interview and write a paper about what they learned about that career. Well... sometimes the stuff my kids write is just too funny to not share with others. So here is an essay from one of the kids. I didn't change anything. Believe me; I couldn't make this up.

Essay Interview

Mr. Burrill

Rm.15

                Hi my name is Jordan Thompson, my dream job is to be a detective or maybe a pharmacist. I’ve always wanted to be a detective because ever since I was young I always watched Colombo and matloc, and I would always try to solve the cases.Ive decided to interview my uncle Dwayne and he is a call receptionist at Verizon wireless.

               I interviewed my uncle Dwayne, he is 52 and he has been a call receptionist at Verizon wireless. He has been in the customer service field for about 8 years now and has moved himself up.  He pretty much answers phone calls to customers that aren’t happy with their bill. Sometimes there just having a hard time with their phones. He has customers as mad as where they can be cursing him out. When people are complaining about their bill being high he tries to maybe see if there up for a new phone or he can do a 15% deal off.

               A typical day for my uncle is first to clock in and get his coffee.  When he sits down he usually checks his email and calls his daughter and wife and tell them he got to work safely.  Once hi is all settled he checks if there is any emails and calls. He said he gets about 45 calls on a good day, he gets yelled at at least 10 times a day. He has two 15 minutes breaks and 1 lunch break. During his 15 minute break he handles some of his bills and most of the time he has mandatory meetings. During his lunch break he usually brings his lunch to his daughter at work or goes out to eat with his girlfriend Sheela. After he goes back to work and finishes up some paper work he starts on his phone calls after he finishes up some paper work. Then he clocks out and goes home and chills at home.

               The perks and advantages of this job is that he can flex his hours, which is where you can leave work early and then make up the hours later. That is really cool because most adults can’t do that so I think that is really cool.  His money was really good when he used to be a lawyer for a very long time and he had to go back to help his daughter because she had a two twin kids.  He works about 10 hours on a good day 11 on a bad day. He and my family go on a cruise trip every year out the country.  He gets along with all of his coworkers, he thinks it’s cool because he usually a one man job except for his clients.  The rewards at his job is every Friday his job has a potluck I’m going to one pretty soon. He always has fun either if it’s happy hour after his job, or its clubbing with our family.

               This job requires 6 weeks of training you really have to know what you’re doing to have job so it’s a lot harder.  You have to have an AA you don’t need a master’s degree or a bachelors because it’s not mandatory for most people if they have been in this field before.  He ended up in this job because he wanted to get some extra money on the side and this was the easy because he went to law school so he got the job easily.  He originally wanted to be in the NBA but that didn’t work out but he played college ball. 

               He uses math every day because he has to count his customers, so that’s a pretty big part of his day.  Math is very important because he’s adding, subtracting and multiplying he said he feels like an accountant.  His advice to middle schoolers now is to don’t take middle school for granted what you learn will be essential to what you learn in high school and life.

               An interesting story I learned from the interview is it was his birthday and they put him down for working after he asked for the day off. Once he found out he had to go to work he yelled at his boss and he said Dwayne I gave you the day off this is for next month. My Uncle Dwayne called him and apologized later that day for all that cursing and yelling at him for. The most interesting thing I have learned from this interview is to always put in your full work because one day you will be so proud and it will pay off. Like in math class by grade dropped and it’s been so hard getting up and I want to keep doing my work so I can my make my mom proud. His worst day is when a customer called him and was cursing him out, and his temper was already high from earlier this morning so he snapped on the guy.  The customer gave him a zero on his survey and he had to have a meeting with this group manager and his boss, luckily all he had was a write up. His scariest moment was when he thought he was going to get fired because he missed 2 days of work and didn’t call in saying he was ill. His most successful story was helping a customer that had a problem that no one could really solve and the other one was giving a customer a deal to help them pay there bill when they didn’t have the funds to.

               The conclusions about this career is you have to have lot of patients and sometimes you will get very frustrated and and this job isn’t for everyone.  Also not many people are able to do this job my uncles boss said it is a gift. I wouldn’t want to this job the salary isn’t a problem I feel like I can see myself being a detective like I said in the beginning of this essay, or I maybe want to be a scout for high school sports I would love to do that. Thank you very much for taking up your time in your day to read this essay.

2014 Student Letters

Once again I had my students write me letters at the end of the year. I give them some basic ideas, but they are free to write whatever they want. And they do. In effort to keep the integrity of the letters I have tried to leave spelling and grammar mistakes, so you can read them as they were written. In no particular order here are excerpts from the letters:

This year being in your class was actually kind of fun even though we had to do ton’s of homework. But I kind of got used to it even though I don’t do it that often.

Omg, you don’t even no how much I’m going to miss this class. TBH (which mean (to be honest) you were my best teacher this year. like NJ (which means no joke). The part about this class was when you tell us funny stories. I be 2 weak. But ya.... This class was a great experience for me and will help me for my future. So thank you so much 4 everything you’ve done and taught me.

One girl just made a key for me at the bottom of her letter.

JK = Just kidding

Lol = laugh out loud

Really? Give me some credit. TBH and NJ might be a little tough, but I think I'm good on JK and lol.

Have a nice summer, haha. You get it? Because I’m summer. Lol. But have a nice summer. P.S. your my favorite math teacher.

I had a good time in this class (even though I was not there most of the time) it was nice. Did I tell you about a ride back in North Carolina? It is call the Intemedator it is huge. Well, I hope I might be back next year.

This came at the bottom of a letter from a girl in my 6th period:

p.s. you look good in black it brings out your eyes

This was a different girl in the same class:

p.s. you look good in black.

Let me check their last exam and see if they were copying.

This class was ok. I didn’t have much 8^th grade friends in this class but it’s cool. I learned how to use fractions a lot better thanks to you. your lessons always make sense. But I want a cool job. I want to be dJ. That would be the sickest job ever. Party all day. If I ever become world famous you would be welcome to my concerts and stuff.

p.s. If I become world famous this paper will be your pass

I liked this class better than Mrs. Nickles because you don’t give that much homework even tho I don’t do homework. Well last week I started a crew, the S.S.C, which stands for see-saw crew because every morning we would go to the park and play on the see-saw. That’s all I’m going to say.

Mr. B you are my current favorite math teacher this year.

Even though some of us did not pass your class (cough) you did teach us a couple things about life, and you did make it fun.

I finally know how to graph thanks to you! Mr. Kerze was weird and also a good teacher but you were better and at teaching us stuff; easier. Btw you should show this to him. J but yea I really liked how you would be teaching us math, then all of the sudden it would be like BAM! Story time! You should’ve brought your wife more often to class thoe. She was nice and helped me on my equations. And my mom thinks your adorable! BYE!

Even though I was a pain for you, you still liked me as a great and intelligent student.

One thing I will say I learned from this class is to never be late and bring in food.

One day one of her classmates showed up about 30 minutes late to first period carrying a bag from McDonalds. I kinda went off. I guess she remembered that.

Anyways you get distracted easily by one second the class is doing math and the next thing you know you talking about your crazy ex or some prisoners.

Your favorite thing is that you want your kids to do good in life. That is one thing I admire about you.

Almost all of my teachers I have had have been funny but you take funny to whole new level because you can use humor that we can relate to for our age.

When you teach us math you make it fun to learn and you do things to some of your students like yelling at them or throwing something at them so you can make them pay attention or whatever but it makes everybody laugh and have a good time.

Once I started your class I noticed you that you explained lessons the easiest way possible which made it a lot easier.

I don’t really remember what I learned this year, but I learned a lot.

You are the best math teacher and a good person. Your story’s are the best. I learned a lot from you and not just math, I learned how to try hard and never give up. I hope you have a great life, and I see you again sometime.

The funnest assignment you had us do this year was when you multiply an exponent by an exponent.

I totally understand. Sometimes my friends and I just get together to multiply exponents. Personally, I love X³ to the fifth power. I could do that one all day. 

I learned a lot during this year. I have gained a lot of experience in Algebra. The experience I have gained will be with me for the rest of my life. Unless I get a serious bad case of amnesia or get hit in the head by a frying pan.

Hola Mr. Burrill,

Es un buen maestro aprendier much te usted, usted abbesses es chistoso con la clase porque nos cuenta historia perosnales de su vida. Ami me gusto la marieria que usted tien para que los ninos aprendan facil.

I understand my greades sliped in the last month but that is becaus I wasent handaling my time wisely. I realiy hope I improve on that, (along with spelling and my shyness).

You’re the funniest teacher I ever had. I have learned so much about math this year, that’s why I love math! Ever since I was in elementary school I hated math. I didn’t care about it or I just hated it. Once I got into your class, I started to like math.

Why do you yell at random times?

You motivated me to push harder and further, not just in school, math, but in life. Thank you for a great, funny, and educational year that helped me get back on my feet.

I even have respect for you, because you believe in your students. Even though we act like immature idiots. You still believe we can go somewhere in life.

In the first of the year I didn’t like you much but now your like my 2^nd or 3^rd favorite teacher.

You’re the best teacher in the world. I learn to much and that’s why I didn’t want to do anything. But you were the best teacher I could have.

I’d like to start my letter off by saying thank you. Thank you for being our teacher and my favorite while doing it. I loved every minute of every lesson that we learned. Especially the 10-star notes, and your funny stories. I can’t wait to see you next year!

I’ve learned so much in you’re class, just never remembered any of it, that’ why I didn’t do my homework all year.

My favorite part of the class are the posters, they are so inspirational and I wish all my teachers had posters like yours.

Finally I had a kid notice the posters. (They are great posters.)

Ever since the beginning of this year I would say math is my favorite subject now. Even though you have been a big asshole you still are my favorite teacher of all the teachers here. I know I’ve given you hard times before because of talking and I’m really sorry for that. My favorite part of my day is coming to 4^th period ready to learn and have fun. I really love math now because of you. Have a very nice summer with Stephanie and the kids.

At the beginning of the year you were kind of a dick. But as I learned about it, you do it to help us. I had a lot of fun in your class and I hope to be in it next year.

Thanks?

Even thou you have been mean several times but it’s all right that’s the way you have to be against us.

The truth is that I liked your class very much besides the fact that you sent me out about 5 times.

Thanks for being so hard on me.

I think in future years you should let your classes have more fun. More comedian stuff (the computer not you) cause I didn’t understand any of your jokes.

I’d personally like to be as funny and witty as you are when I’m your age. And my favorite part of this class has been your Mitch Hedberg sketches.

In the beginning of the year I was really shy and didn’t participate very much. After we had that talk I started to have more confidence to participate.

You explain things very well and math is now my 2^nd favorite subject. My first is band, of course. But after band me and Katherine talk about what we will be learning today and tomorrow every single day. 

When I first came to your class at the beginning of the year I thought you were a dick. And when the year started to go by I still thought you were a dick, but then I started to understand where you were coming from and why you were a dick. So I guess you can say you were a pretty cool/funny teacher and I had an OK year in this class.

I guess you can say you sure learned how to give a compliment. 

I thank you for making the concepts understandable and allowing me to figure things out because it makes that “ah-ha” moment better.

My favorite pare of the class is the beginning of the year when Miss S. was here.

I’ll miss walking in here every day and hoping that we’d use the white boards.

You are by far one of the best teachers I have ever had. You make learning fun for me. You are the reason I look forward to coming to school.

One kid even wrote a poem for me:

Mr. Burrill is tight

He never got in a fight

He only comes out at night

To fly a kite and get some chicken mc bites

I always hated math. It was one of my weak points. But you were always there trying to help me. Teaching me, and letting me learn about you. I wasn’t just learning math but also about you. You make me happy when you tell stories. Even though my life is really shitty you give me hope. My best friend is dying and I feel like I’ll die too if she leaves. But you give me hope. Hope that she will be okay. All this hope comes from hearing your stories and for that I thank you. Thank you Mr. Burrill for all you have done for all of us in this class.

Wow. I had no idea.

Thank you so much for taking in this class! If I would have stayed with a long term sub I would have failed. I’ve learned so much from you and not just math. I’ve learned some life lessons as well. I’m going to miss being in this class. I also wanted to thank you for encouraging me to write, because before I was terrified to go up in front of the class. Thank you for being the kind, understanding, fun teacher you are!

I told the kids one day that I hoped at the end of the year they could say that their life was a little better off because for one hour a day for one year they were in my class. And they should strive to be the type of people that others want to be around. 

Thank you for dedicating so much of your time to all of your students. You are such a great teacher. Not because of what I learned, but how I learned. I was amazed how you could put so much of your personality into math. You made class fun. And that made all the difference. My life is a little better off now that I’ve been in your class one hour everyday for 5 days a week.

If I could go back in time and re-live this year in your class I wouldn’t change a thing. You always made my day, even when it was a horrible day. I just want to thank you for all you’ve done and for believing in me.

And thank you too. You were a joy to have in class.

Just for the record I did teach math I didn't just tell kids stories the whole day, but I guess I can see what they remember. So nice to hear from the kids when they really did learn and grow and can express it such a wonderful and beautiful way. Sometimes I need these letters to keep me going.

My Last AVID Class

It has been over 30 years since the first AVID class began in San Diego California. Now it is a huge program all over the country and international as well. I had the opportunity to start AVID at Einstein Middle School and be the coordinator and teacher for the last several years. I just finished my last year with program. At the end of each year I have my kids write me a letter telling me anything they would like to say. Here are some excerpts from my AVID students of 2013-2014:

I really can’t thank you enough because I don’t think I would have made into West Campus without all the practice you gave me and the other kids with writing. To be honest, I thought I wasn’t going to be cool with anybody in the class until TRF groups came and everybody started to get to know each other. Before I joined AVID, I thought college was way out of my range and that once you got in you’ll be stressed the hell out all the time. I thought that the only way for me to go college is through athletics, but no, you made me believe that sports is not the only thing on my side. I can make it in academics and I will do good in college because you trained to go into college prepared. Thanks for all your stories and knowledge!

Thanks for teaching me about ELA and mathematics because those were my worst areas. I think I will do better in high school and college because of you.

I just want to thank you! Thank you for not letting me regret choosing AVID as my elective. You have inspired me to actually think about what I want to do in college. Thank you for telling me that school is a game and you have to play it RIGHT! Thank you for the field trip and parties. Now you can remember me and Abrea for teaching you the nae nae. Mr. Burrill you’re the funniest teacher EVER! But overall, you made my last year at Einstein the best. Oh, and thank you for all those perseverance movies. I learned a lot from those. It taught me to never give up on something your really want to do.

This was one of the bet classes I had in my life. I never thought that AVID would help me and be so fun. One thing I learned is that college is very important.

I learned that I need to be more assertive as I express myself. You are one of the most funniest teachers I had so far. You’re not afraid to speak your mind and that’s what I admire about you. I also learned a lot of life lessons from you that could help me as I get older. I like how you sometimes get off topic because you want to tell us your experience on certain things. You try to help all your students from now to sometimes high school. It’s fun that I had you for two periods because it is cool how you treat your kids.

I’m really glad I chose AVID for my 8^th grade elective, although I’m disappointed that it’s the last year here at Einstein. You’re a great teacher especially when teaching AVID. Throughout the school year you have helped us realize many things like: not caring what other think of us, having integrity, not always being passive. I think it’s cool how you can tell us a story and turn it into a lesson. Hopefully you and Stephanie last long, and hopefully you won’t get so bothered about her shoes everywhere.

I hope AVID comes back in the future because this program is very helpful and fun… We’ve had lots of laughs and serious moments. You taught me how to use perseverance and follow my ambitions.

In the beginning of the year, I didn’t even know what a thesis was, or what a topic sentence is. Now I know what both of them are and more. I know a lot more thins, and I want to thank you, because you’ve made me open my eyes and realize that I needed to get my priorities straight.

You inspired me and are one of the people who actually is keeping me a live because you showed me that there are people who care. Crazy right? Ha.

Most of the time in classes you can be mean at some times, but that taught me that not everyone you meet is going to be nice.

I wish I had a few more days to spend at school so our class could have more fun together.

You taught me a whole lot about life and how to succeed and I really truly want to thank you for that. Your cold hard truths you did with us really impacted my life. The best part about class was our stories. You told us a lot of superfluous information but oh boy it was funny.

I am very sad that Einstein AVID is coming to an end. AVID was really fun this year. I learned how to write a lot better! I am going to miss this class. I’m glad that we are the last AVID class at Einstein because we were obviously the best class ever! Listening to your stories about your crazy ex-girlfriends were the best part of this class. Next year I will come back and say hello. I really liked the cold hard truths when we actually did them. I learned a lot from those… Don’t forget about the best AVID class you have ever had!

I won't.