What is your name and what department do you work in? My name is Joe Obrycki. I work in the math department.
What was your inspiration for becoming a teacher? When I was in high school, I liked helping people, specifically in math and a little bit in science. I would talk with my friends about it, and I would help out other people that I knew. So I went to college thinking I might be a teacher, but I wasn’t certain. Then in my junior year, I took an education psychology class because a buddy of mine had taken the class and said that the professor was really good. Part of the class, we had to volunteer in a classroom. So I volunteered for a year in a seventh grade math classroom. By the end of the experience, I knew that I wanted to do something in teaching.
What made you choose high school? I chose highschool because I started in a middle school and didn’t like it.
Do you like teaching in high school? Yes, teaching in high school is a lot of fun. It’s a lot of fun to interact with people, and the kids are great.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? I’ve always wanted to go to Stonehenge.
What is your favorite thing to do outside of school? Outside of school, I do a lot of different things. A lot of basketball, watching and playing. Basketball has always been a part of my life.
What is your favorite thing about being a teacher? My favorite thing about being a teacher is getting to set up a situation where my students are getting to learn something or experience a new idea for the first time, and getting to help them understand how that fits into other things they’ve already been thinking about.
Who is your favorite music artist? Ok, I still think the best musical group of all time is Led Zeppelin. It’s very hard to argue with The Beatles; when you go back and look at how many albums and songs The Beatles produced in the amount of time that they were together, it is pretty ridiculous. And if we’re going more recently, I listen to a lot of Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.
How would you describe your personality to your students? I try to be laid back and flexible, but we’re still here to learn. We’re still here to work. We still got to get our things done, but I try to be understanding about you know, not everybody thinks math is as much fun as I do.
If you could have any other job in the world, what would you choose? I wish I could write math textbooks.
If you could meet any famous person, who would it be, and why? I would actually really want to have a conversation with Malcolm X if I got to pick.
