By Ben Walker
Staff Writer
This past week I sat down and interviewed Mr Duquette. He is a new student support teacher here at WA.
Q: Where did you grow up, or go to school?
A: I grew up in Rhode Island… and I went to college at the University of Rhode Island.
Q: What did you major in, in college?
A: I have a Masters [degree] now in severe special needs, and before when I was at the University of Rhode Island, I had a major in biology.
Q: What made you want to become a teacher?
A: I love working with kids. In college I was a biology major because I was thinking about teaching high school biology, and toward the end I decided I want to teach Special Ed. Both my parents worked with people with disabilities, so that is kind of what drew me to Special Ed.
Q: Why did you choose to work here at Westford Academy?
A: I had family that lived in Westford before, so I was a little bit familiar with the town. That was kind of kind of why I decided to apply and go through the process of working in Westford. Before I was in Westford Academy I worked at the Abbot school, so I decided I wanted to try to work with high school kids again.
Q: Why did you switch from teaching elementary school to high school?
A: I like the older kids, everyone is a little more mature, there is more after school activities and things like that. I just like the age level, the kids are fun to talk to. Everyone is moving onto the next stage of their life, once they’re done with high school. It’s good to see the kids growing up and maturing and getting ready for the next stage of their life.
Q: What is your favorite part of teaching?
A: My favorite part of teaching is the interacting with the kids, and those times when you are just talking about a topic and everyone is telling each other what they think, that is usually a pretty fun time. Another good moment is when a student didn’t know how to do something before, and you teach a lesson and towards the end they finally realize that they know how to do it and they feel really great about themselves…that’s a pretty good moment.
Q: What subjects do you teach?
A: I teach Math and English, a vocational class and a Science class…a pretty wide variety.
Q: What is the vocational class?
A: Its kind of like teaching different jobs that you’ll do out in the world, different skills to be able to perform those jobs.
Q: What are some of your hobbies outside of school?
A: I like watching football on Sundays, that’s not really a huge hobby now but I have a fifteen-month old son so he keeps me pretty busy. That’s where most of my time goes when I’m not here.
Q: What did you think of WA when you first started here a couple of weeks ago?
A: I like WA a lot. I like all of the teachers and all of the kids… very positive atmosphere here at WA, I like all the activities you get out of school, all the teams and practicing. It’s just a fun environment.
