At what school in the district do you teach?

Stroudsburg High School

What Subject(s) do you teach? 

Math – Geometry and Discrete/Trig

What Grades do you teach?

10-12

What’s your favorite part about teaching? 

My favorite part about teaching is that I go home every day and feel like I made a difference in the world.  Although teaching can be stressful at times, each day when I get home I tell my wife about the smallest events that I did not realize were important at the time.  During the day things can move fast and the little moments can be overlooked, but my favorite part about teaching is reflecting on all of the little interactions that happen throughout the day. 

Why do you enjoy teaching?

Teaching is my 3rd or 4th career, and by far the best.  When I graduated college, I was hired at East Stroudsburg High School North in the ACE room.  I worked this position for about 2-3 years before I was reassigned as an Instructional Aide working in a reading and math support class.  After about 2-3 years in this position, I lost my job due to budget cuts.  This was devastating to me because I really loved waking up every morning and working at a job where I felt I was making a difference in the world.  

I worked through the summer landscaping and through the fall/winter as a UPS delivery driver.  The UPS job was just a seasonal contract and ended right after the new year, so I had to find another job as soon as possible.  This also happened to be at the same time my wife and I just bought a house and found out we were having our first baby.    

I decided to study for my CDL (commercial driver’s license) and was able to get a job driving a big truck and delivering for a large company.  Although the pay was great and I was able to comfortably provide for my family, the physical damage that occurred to my body made me realize I could not do that job forever.  When I would come home from this job, I would have to stretch and take a deep breath before bending down to pick up my son who had just started walking.  One morning I woke up and went to get out of bed, but my left leg was locked and I couldn’t get it to bend.  I had to wake my wife up to help me try to forcibly bend my leg at the knee so I could make it to work that day.  This was the day I decided to go back to school and study to get my teaching certificate.  

Although I had new aspirations to be a teacher, I still had a family and bills that needed to be paid.  The only way I was able to go back to school was to find a job that did not conflict with the times my classes would be, so I got a weekend/night job loading shipping trailers.  This full-time job was three 12-hour shifts that consisted of Saturday nights, Sunday nights, and Monday nights.  The job was great because I was able to go back to school and still take care of my family, but the schedule was intense. 

Most semesters I would get out of work Monday morning around 6:00 in the morning, sleep in my car for about a half-hour, then drive to my morning class that started at 800.  I would then finish my classes for the day, go to the library to watch YouTube videos to try and learn the lessons. I struggled to stay awake though.  I would then eat a snack on my way to the Monday night shift, and repeat the process Tuesday.  I would usually get home Tuesday night around 6:00 p.m. and spend time with my family for the first time since Sunday afternoon.  

Although these years of my life were challenging, the journey made me appreciate where I am today and I wouldn’t change it anything for the world!