In light of Math Teacher Mrs. Kochik’s maternity leave, Mr. Hawkins has assumed her position and taken over her Algebra II and precalculus classes.

Mr. Hawkins graduated from Tufts University and decided, while there, that he wanted to become a teacher. He has been a teacher for nine years and taught math in New Milford and music in Wood-Ridge. He is currently in graduate school studying computer science.

Mr. Hawkins will be an instructor at Becton until April of 2016 and looks forward to teaching graphing, probability and statistics.

“Mr. Hawkins is a delightful man to be around,” said Sophomore Victoria Gatopoulos, who is enrolled in Algebra II Honors.

Students like his teaching methods because he takes his time and allows them to fully comprehend each lesson before moving on to the next. The math instructor ensures that everyone understands each concept by creating custom handouts, doing several practice problems on the board, and walking around the room and checking everyone’s answers to make sure that the students are all on the same page before moving onto the next lesson.

“Becton’s great,” he said. “The students all really try their hardest and concentrate at the task at hand.”

Mr. Hawkins’ favorite type of math is functions and function composition, but even though he takes math very seriously, he enjoys funny movies and jokes.

Growing up, the math teacher played ice hockey, and now he spends his free time performing outdoor activities, visiting family and friends and traveling. He looks forward to a great year at Becton.