Q-What do you think of Dakota High school?

A-So far what I think is, and Mr. Demorest said this to me in my first year, was that “even though we are the biggest school in Michigan in terms of student body, we still have a small community feel to it.” So, at least among the staff, everyone knows everyone basically. So, I think that is really important more because we all work together better, we all encourage each other, and there is just a very positive work environment.  And also, I would say, the student body seems really motivated to exceed to it, to make their own goals and reach them as well.

Q-Did you always want to be a math teacher?

A-No, I did not, I actually denied that for a few years. So, for my first two years in college, I was a Mechanical Engineering major even though I was tutoring in the high school, I thought that there’s not a future for me in the high school setting. But then, after my first year of tutoring I kind of toyed with the idea a little bit and did some research on teaching and I wasn’t convinced enough to make that change yet. But then after my second year of tutoring, I pretty much thought “okay this is definably what I want to do” because I keep thinking at the end of the day “what would it be like to be a teacher?” not so much to be like an Engineer. Even teachers I worked with before said: “you are going to be a great teacher one day.” And I was like, no I’m not. I’m not going to be a teacher at all. But then, that obviously changed.

Q-What else do you teach?

A-Last year I did Algebra 2YC/2YD and Geometry and Geometry Focus. This year I’m doing algebra 2YC/2YD twice, and 2YA/2YB three times. As far as tutoring goes, I have tutored from 7^th grade through college.

Q-Other things that he does

A-I would say that the main thing that I do, at least in a school setting, you know, outside of teaching math, is Ultimate Frisbee which I love. So, in Pontiac when I was tutoring and student teaching, I started a Frisbee club. And that was really successful, you know, a lot of kids showed up. We didn’t do tournaments or anything. Here, I started the club again. Last year we competed in Lancing against other schools. And this year I have more goals because I want to get uniforms, I want to compete against even a college team, if we can get to that level, and attend more tournaments and have a bigger presence on campus, I would say.

Q-Cons of teaching

A-So, especially in my situation since I teach two over two, and not everyone wants to be here from what I observe, I think for the most part I’ve gotten good feedback on class. We are cramming a years’ worth of work into nine months so, June through August I pretty much hibernate from September to June I’m taking work home with me, and working on weekends. It’s a kind of give and take, but one of the biggest cons is if you don’t like working extra hard for probably a year than having a break part of the year opposed to a traditional job where you work consistently throughout the year. If that’s not for you, then that would be a difficult con for teaching, but I kind of like that.

Q-What do you like about teaching?

A-The main thing that I like about teaching is kind of the setting that I’m in. Working with other people, talking with other people, it’s very different from a traditional desk job where you do your own work and keep to yourself sometimes, and that works for some people, and that’s totally fine, but for me, I like to have interactions with people and build those relationships. Be surrounded by people that are passionate about what they are doing.