Bonnie Buck: Middle School Math, Science…and, maybe, Art?

Bonnie Buck, Three Fires Middle School

“I couldn’t imagine teaching anywhere else…”

Though she’s taught in Howell Schools her entire career, Bonnie Buck, currently teaching program success, science and pre-algebra at Three Fires Middle School wouldn’t have it any other way.  A veteran with experience in three different buildings, she says she enjoys Three Fires most of all because of the helpful colleagues and pleasant aesthetics. “I truly enjoy working with the staff at Three Fires,” she says, “they’re the best, always willing to work together towards common goals. It’s also a beautiful building to walk into every morning.”

Mrs. Buck says the biggest challenges in education lie in the task of taking a prescribed, bare-bones curriculum, fleshing it out and transforming it into something that’s both educational and enjoyable. Again, she thanks her colleagues for teaming up with her to take on this job.

A married mom with three children, her son Brandon is finishing up college at her Alma Mater, Central Michigan University. Likewise, her daughter Kristyn is also following in her footsteps to a certain degree, substitute teaching in Howell and looking for a permanent teaching job. Her son Steven is an attorney for the State of Kentucky.

Bonnie thinks the best part of teaching is when former students visit and reminisce. “I want my students to have good memories of eighth grade, and many students who come back to see me bring up many ‘remember whens’ and let me know that they’ve wound up making good choices based on something that happened or was covered in my class.”

Active on committees ranging from those that help define curriculum, earn the school deserved recognition, and enhance its social life, this recognized and esteemed science and math teacher may have a flip side that people are less familiar with: she’s also the artist responsible for painting all the wolf mascots and teacher names next to Three Fire’s classroom doors.