Dakota Ridge has many new teachers on staff this year. One of them is James Cosby, a science teacher from Summit Ridge Middle School. According to Cosby, there are a few reasons why he made the move to DRHS.
Cosby said the first reason for his move was that he enjoyed working with last year’s 8th graders (now freshmen). Since he had the opportunity to follow them this year as a science teacher again, he took it. The second reason, and possibly the most important, is that the forensics unit offered at the end of Summit’s 7th grade year was always Cosby’s favorite unit. He heard about the previous Forensic teacher’s (Mr. Burke) retirement and wanted to teach a Forensics class.
“I couldn’t resist,” Cosby said. “Mr. Burke had done a great job teaching Forensics for many years… it was an opportunity to teach a semester-long Forensics course instead of just one month.”
The Forensics class isn’t the only one Cosby enjoys teaching. He’s also teaching 9th grade biology and enjoys seeing how everything he taught back in middle school circles back in high school.
“My poor students. Every day, when I’m teaching, I keep pointing out how we learned something about each topic back in 7th grade,” Cosby said. “So yeah, they’re getting tortured.”
As many can imagine, being a new teacher in the building is similar to being a new student in the building. You don’t have a set routine, or established friend group, or even a spot at lunch. Thankfully, it didn’t take Cosby long to find a good place in the faculty to feel like he belonged.
“The school community here is fantastic,” Cosby said. “The teachers and students have made me feel very welcome. Everyone is just so nice.”
Another thing Cosby had to adjust to, other than new classes and coworkers, was the school spirit.
“I know middle school is a different world, and kids aren’t so involved in their school and community,” Cosby said. “So it’s refreshing seeing kids cheering for each other and getting excited for Homecoming and Mr. Dakota.”
Between students’ positive reactions and Cosby’s own excitement, it’s clear that he intends to bring a fun and positive energy to the community.
