At first glance, this classroom seems to have a feeling of zen and relaxation, and while that may be the case sometimes, it's sure not what we saw when we visited.
Teacher Scott Bradshaw stands on chairs and shouts the rules of point intercept to these middle-schoolers.
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WATCH HEREThe students work in small groups to take the information learned and apply it to complex problems they may not have necessarily seen before.
"You can be so confident and you can do one thing wrong and be like time to go back to the equation," said student Lance Clark.
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SIGN UP The group work helps them to catch smaller adding or subtracting errors along the way.
No one is shy about the fact, that, all this --- is hard.
"I don't know what I'm doing right now. I'm hoping I get it right," said one student.
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No one gets that more than their teacher. Bradshaw was an electrical engineer, who mid-career felt a need to be here.
"I wasn't great in math when I was younger, but along the way something clicked and I said to myself. I've got to get back to the grade where I wasn't clicking and help them out," said Bradshaw.
"He makes math fun, he finds a way," one student said of their teacher.
It's that energy, that motivation that keeps these kids not just showing up but bragging about Brooks Wester Middle School.
"We call it the 'Wester way,'" said Principal Kourtney Gates of her students' drive academically and socially to give it their all.
The school is an 'A' campus by TEA and houses a STEM school in Mansfield ISD.
Wester has 33 clubs that meet weekly on campus everything from sports to academics is represented, including many competitions in which the school takes part.
"It's just a fun place where everyone cares about you," said student Jaaliyah McClendon.
