My 1st attempt at bloggin'

Hello everybody! Sorry to be so late in coming to the party, but the Morristown group only found out the class had started about a week ago, so we are operating in "catch-up" mode and not without a bit of anxiety.



My name is Jeff Kinsler, and I am in my third year as assistant principal at Morristown-Hamblen High School West. I spent 21 years as a math teacher at the same school, and I must candidly admit that I was better as a math teacher than I believe I will ever be as an administrator --wow, what a steep learning curve! My job responsibilities include: curriculum, master schedule, AP coordination, 10th grade discipline, special education, and, since I have worked so closely with the staff for so many years, everybody's sounding board. The switch from the classroom to administration has been challenging, with perhaps the greatest challenge coming from my own measurement of my job performance. As an advanced math teacher, I measured success in the number of my students who scored above 30 on the math ACT test; as an administrator, I now measure my success in the number of special ed kids who lean int0 me rather than pull away when I hug them. Did I mention the steep learning curve?



On the home front, I am married to Regina Smith Kinsler who worked in our math department for 12 years before venturing into the business world just this year. She owns and operates two gift shops in Morristown and Jefferson City (I guess technically that makes her a franchise) which specializes in the Vera Bradley merchandise line--yes, that was a deliberate name drop because we just recently acquired a mortgage payment and all business is appreciated. The joy of my life is our 5 year old son, Matthew, who has much more energy than his 45 year old father can handle.



My hobbies include golf and reading, but given my 65+ hour work week and the aforementioned 5 year old, my current favorite activity is napping.