Mirror Q & A: Michael Burd

Mirror: What classes do you teach?

Burd: 10th grade English (two sections).

M: How long have you been teaching?

B: This is my 16th year.

M: Where have you taught before?

B: Framingham, North Central Charter Essential School, Prospect Hill Academy and Weston.

M: Where did you go to college?

B: Brandeis University for my undergraduate degree and Harvard for my master's.

M: What do you like most about teaching?

B: Working with students and getting to know them as people.

M: Where are you from?

B: Outside of Philadelphia.

M: What are your hobbies?

B: I’m a big sports fan - love to watch sports in my spare time.

M: Why do you like about Dedham?

B: The English department and the district’s desire to help all students achieve their potential.

M: What inspired you to become a teacher?

B: I never really liked school growing up. I want to be a better teacher for my students than I had in school.

M: What is your favorite movie?

B: The Usual Suspects.

M: What is your favorite book?

B: The Great Gatsby.

M: Favorite quote?

B: “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

M: What was the last song you downloaded?

B: Donda (I just stream on Spotify).

M: What sets you apart from other teachers?

B: I don’t think all that much. I try to incorporate student voice into my class, but I am sure many other teachers do as well.

M: Will you be involved in any extra-curricular activities?

B: Maybe - give me a few months first.

M: Favorite app?

B: Spotify.

M: Dunks or Starbucks?

B: Dunks.

M: Favorite sports team?

B: Philadelphia Eagles, Sixers, Flyers and Phillies.

M: What is your greatest accomplishment?

B: Marrying my beautiful wife and having our wonderful children.

M: What jobs did you do before teaching?

B: Retail - Old Navy, Cashier at a local market.