Mr. Robert Fultz is a mathematics teacher here at John I. Burton. He teaches math from the start of school to the end. His subjects are Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2. Mr. Fultz has enjoyed teaching for thirty years. In his early teaching years he considered himself strict, but as he gained more experience he became less strict. I asked him, "How do you deal with bad students?" his response was, "Anything to get them to do better. I've tried assigning work, disciplining them, and just about everything -- I just do my best to help them learn." He also rewards his good students. For example, when I was in his class he threw us pizza parties. His advice to upcoming students is, "Get ready."
Mr. Fultz is 53 years old. He was raised in Norton and still lives in Norton. Mr. Fultz is happily married with three kids. He is also a pastor at the Freedom of Worship Church and a small business owner for inflatables. When asked how being a pastor affects his role as a school teacher, his response was: "Coming back to the high school classroom after being a pastor has probably caused me to be a bit more sympathetic. So many students deal with so much outside the classroom and I can't seem to ignore that. I find myself being a bit of a cheerleader. I suppose that's not terrible." He taught at many places before coming to Burton. These schools include the Wise County Christian School, Appalachia High School, Pound High School, and Coeburn High Schools. He also taught many college classes at MECC and UVA Wise - in fact, he still teaches one for UVA Wise. In addition to teaching, Mr. Fultz has had a variety of work experience in his life. He has been a janitor, pumped gas, worked as a general mechanic, made pizza, fried burgers and fish, made Pepsi, worked in coal mines, and set up tents and inflatables. All in all, I think Burton students consider themselves lucky to have a such a well-rounded instructor.