"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn", a quote from Benjamin Franklin. Some teachers are only in the business for a paycheck, others are in it to inspire individuals for generations to come. The ones who inspire take teaching to unprecedented levels by devoting their lessons and their lives to helping students soar not only in the classroom but also in life. Teachers like this don't come around often, sometimes not at all, but I found one.
The Epitome, the Definition, the Embodiment of Kindness
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| Mr. Yaracz in action |
Andrew Yaracz is a mathematics teacher at Mount Carmel Area Junior/Senior High school who at the moment teaches Algebra I, Calculus, and AP Calculus AB. He graduated from Hazelton Area High School and soon after graduated from Bloomsburg University with a Bachelors in Secondary Education and did his student teaching at Hazelton Area High school. He's been a teacher for eight years now and recently got his Masters degree from Concordia University online. In high school, he says he could at least narrow down the things that he liked to do and that was mathematics and helping people and if he had to do anything for the rest of his life it would be a combination of the two. Ultimately he wants to be a teacher of teachers and plans to get his doctorate at a physical college.
In a Time of Darkness
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| From Left to Right, Sheila the Sloth, Irma the Otter, and Teacup the Pig |
Before he was employed at Mount Carmel Area he says that teachers were sending students to college unprepared. He says that he does everything in his power to prepare students for college. I met up with one of his former students who went off to college who says, " His [Yarac's] class was really hard but now that I'm in college I understand what my professor is talking about, so it paid off!" To achieve this level of preparedness he likes to engage students, challenge them, and interact with them on a personal level. "Everything I do has a purpose in class, you wouldn't know that as the student", says Mr. Yaracz. In terms of engaging students, he likes getting to know them and generally just having fun in class. Some techniques he says he uses are that when students are taking notes he'll spark up some conversations with them because it's at those points that students are not engaged and are just going through the motions of jotting words down. Other techniques he uses to engage students are by telling stories and singing. Mr. Yaracz believes that if the student is having fun they're engaged. " You try to make the material relevant, but how do you make Calc relevant to someone who is just taking Calc for a grade," explains Yaracz,"I'm not going to have Calc be relevant to an English major other than to say 'Hey, they just want to get an A', so I at least just try to have fun". At the start of every week, Mr. Yaracz lets AP Calculus students choose a baby animal for the week and also lets them name it and then he pins them up in the back of the room, this is a method he uses to get the ball rolling at the start of each week.
Classroom Discipline
This topic is a struggle for Mr. Yaracz because he does not like confrontation but nonetheless, he finds ways to work around bad confrontations by being proactive. If you know there is going to be a problem between students you can just arrange the seats differently or if you see some tension arising you can start singing, "It's as much of a classroom management tool as it is an engaging tool." says Yaracz. People don't usually have problems in class when they generally enjoy being there, but in the case that behavior gets too out of hand, it is still necessary to give out a formal punishment.
"There was a student who had his head down in class during a test and he was awake, but something was wrong. I went back maybe three or four times and talked to him and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. He then went out of my room and to the next teacher and I got feedback from that teacher and so now I'm going to call home and see what's going on with this kid because I genuinely care about what's happening to that kid," he goes on, " so when students in your room realize that you care about them and that you're willing to put your time aside to help them, they generally don't give you problems. It's just about being proactive and treating them the way you would want to be treated."
The Workplace
"It's like any other job, there are good days and bad days", says Yaracz. Some co-workers get along fine together and some just don't that's just a way of life, " I like to think I work with them well", explains Yaracz. He does not like tension at the workplace and constantly seeks to resolve conflicts. " Some of the older teachers have their way of doing things, but you just have to try and meet them half-way and try to understand their perspective, and as long as you show them respect you can even disagree with each other as long as you work towards the common goal of helping our students."
Calculus Club
The other day I was able to attend one of the weekly Calculus Club meetings he holds after school hours on his own time. This is a way Mr. Yaracz encourages his AP Calculus students to prepare for not only the tests in his class but in the long run the AP Calculus exam at the end of the year. As I was walking down the long dimly lit hallway to his room I could already hear the laughter of his students. As I walked into the classroom I was greeted by a friendly hello and a wide smile on Mr. Yaracz's bearded face. He had chalk dust of various colors scattered on his clothes that were easily distinguishable even considering how far I was from him at this point. Soon after I was offered some pizza and a drink that he bought for his students, the garlicky scent of pizza consumed the room. The students were hard at work on calculus problems that were written all over two chalkboards that stretched across two sides of the room. Although the students were clearly challenged with these problems, each one of them had a look of euphoria on their faces throughout the whole night. Also, a SMART Board in the front of the room displayed images that helped students better visualize the hard to grasp calculus topics. The room is on the second floor of the high school and has a window with a view of the school courtyard. Mr. Yaracz's desk was cluttered with many papers and sticky notes and also photos of his friends and family. The most notable of these photos was probably the one of Mr. Yaracz's son Gabe, "If I'd entered him in a cutest baby contest he'd win", said Mr. Yaracz with exuberance. At one point of Calc Club, a student was insisting that they could not do a problem. "If you say you can't," he paused for a moment "you won't", replied Yaracz.
Closure
Yaracz believes he is meant to teach upper-level students, this is because of the way he likes to challenge students. He wants to get students thinking in a mindset where, okay, if I can't do this then how else can I approach this problem. It's this type of mindset that makes his classes more than just math classes and gives students a mindset that they can overcome any challenge life throws at them. "All I care about is that you can come out of here and think."
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