NAME:
Mr. Bruce Becker
SCHOOL:
St. Joseph's School
CLASS:
7th Grade Pre-Algebra and 8th Grade Algebra
SCHOOL PHONE:
(651) 457-8550
Hello! It is a pleasure for me to have this opportunity to introduce myself to you! My name is
Bruce Becker and I am the mathematics teacher for the junior high.
I grew up in the suburb of Crystal, on the other side of Minneapolis and began my association
with the Catholic schools when I attended Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in St. Louis Park. I
then attended the University of St. Thomas and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. After a
year at the Graduate School of Education, also at the University of St. Thomas, I accepted a position
for one year at a small Catholic School in Golden Valley, MN, a school which has since closed. I have
been here a St. Joseph’s School ever since (This is my 20th year! Where has the time gone?)
My education is continuing. I received my Master’s degree in Education from the University of
St. Thomas in 1990. I have worked as an intern with 3M during two of my summers off (in the
Marketing department and then again in Research and Development), and have also worked with the
Minnesota Department of Education on development, field testing and evaluation of items for the
Minnesota Basic Skills Test. Many other summers have found me chaperoning high school student
trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. For the past four years, I have been
associated with the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2006, I was honored to be
selected by Honeywell to be a part of the first International Space Academy for Educators, one of only
16 teachers selected worldwide. It was an experience which has had a direct benefit for our students
and also one which I will never forget.
Just this past summer, I was employed by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center as a teacher counselor.
I taught NASA’s Engineering Design Challenge for Thermal Protection Systems and a briefing on
NASA's new ARES program to teachers from all over the world, including the Teachers of the Year
from all 50 states! It was one of the most exciting summers ever. I am proud to bring the richness
of these experiences back to the students of St. Joseph’s School!
I live three blocks away from school with my beautiful wife Lisa, and my good-for-nothing cats
(three of 'em... what? Am I crazy?) My wife is the German instructor at Cretin-Derham Hall. In fact,
it is a thrill for me to discover her teaching some of the graduates of St. Joseph’s School!
I wish to offer my sincere gratitude for the privilege of teaching your children. I will do my very
best to do honor to the trust you have put in me. I used to get nervous about what my “life’s work”
would be and where God would lead me, but now am most joyful that he has led me here! I will put
my heart and soul into making this a place of learning and peace.
I hope to pass on my love of math to my students. I hope to provide a high quality mathematics
education to each of my students, reaching them at their present level of development, and firmly
urging them forward to greater achievement, with a focus on application.
Mathematics is practical, beautiful, and great fun. It is my mission in the classroom to inspire a new
generation of students to love it as I do, value its usefulness in their lives, and give them greater, more
rewarding choices in the career paths they will eventually choose.