What is your name, position, and your preferred pronouns? My name is Paul Kastner. I teach Sophomore English and American Literature & Composition in the English Department. My preferred pronouns are he/him.
Why did you decide to teach English? I think that the stock response is that it was the thing I was good at in school, and it was the thing that I liked. I wasn’t always the best student in all other disciplines, but reading, writing, and discussing ideas was always something attractive to me and exciting, something I always looked forward to in school. Aside from that, like I mentioned in class yesterday, one of my favorite things about this job is seeing actual growth in students and seeing them change, become better writers, things like that.
How is Niles North different from the previous schools you have taught in? It is way more diverse than I have taught in diverse schools before. Well, the student population was diverse; it was still large blocks of different cultures, but not varied cultures as we have here. It’s also, I’m sure everyone says this, but it’s super well-supported and funded. The resources we have here do not exist in every single school, including the suburbs. A lot of kids would be shocked by that.
How would you describe the way that you teach? I try to set everything I do in some type of big idea or real-world context so that students can make connections outside of books and literature into the real world. I also try to make as much of my stuff student-centered and discussion-centric, but at the end of the day, I do really like lecturing once in a while. I find that fun, while everyone else might agree it’s boring.
Who or what inspires you every day? I mean, I’m inspired by my colleagues. When I see things that they’re doing that I’m not doing, it makes me get super excited about how I can even 10 years into teaching still continue to change and grow. I also get super inspired by seeing kids grow and the culture of a class become a thing. Like our class in particular, I joke with any of you. I joke with you guys that you guys are at the same time my favorite and least favorite class. But the class has such a defiant tone and personality and flow that no other class has, and that inspires me as I see that every day.
What is your favorite book of all time and why? 2666 by Roberto Bolaño. It’s like 1,000 pages long, broken up into five parts dealing with its own central story and conflict, but they’re all related thematically, and it deals with the nature of art, literature, math, social justice, women’s rights, rights of immigrants, and war. It deals with so many different topics and issues and asks a lot of questions; none of them are resolved. It’s super messy, and the author died while writing it. So even though it’s 1,000 pages, it’s still incomplete, and I think about it all the time. Even though it’s been about 10 years since I re-read it, I think about it all the time.
If you didn’t teach English, what subject would you teach? Social studies or theater. I worked in theater for 10 years as a professional stage hand, but I never taught theater in any way.
What is a piece of advice you wish the world could hear? Don’t be a jerk.
