Hi, I'm Mrs. Brinkman!
I started teaching at Bethune Community School in 2015 and couldn't imagine working anywhere else. Prior to this, I studied at University of Minnesota where I earned my Bachelor's degree in Psychology and my Masters in Elementary Education. In my free time, I am very passionate about social justice work and try to stay educated on the day-to-day injustices in our society. On a lighter note, I spent most of my time outside of work with family and friends just eating, talking and enjoying life.
Just to give you a sense of what families and students can expect from me this year, I’d like to tell you a bit about our classroom and briefly explain my philosophy of teaching. During the first few weeks of school, I plan on setting aside a significant amount of time so that I can get to know my students better. Every student is unique and has different interests and learning styles. I want to ensure that I spend an adequate amount of time learning about all of my students and having them learn about me. My goal is for our classroom to be a community of learners based on mutual respect for all individual differences. By mid-October, we should have established an environment where it is not my classroom, but our classroom.
Homework will start going home on Tuesday, September 5th. Students will recieve a weekly homework packet at the start of each week that is due the following Monday. I encourage parents to work through the homework with their students, and read with them at home as much as possible.
I'm looking forward to a wonderful school year! If you have questions about anything, please feel free to contact me in one of the following ways: