Interview With a New Math Teacher
By Lauren Morris and Mackenzie Fay
Mr. Holdridge is a math teacher that started teaching for our High School this year. His former job as a camp counselor blossomed into his love for teaching. He teaches both Algebra II and Geometry in our math department. Because he is a new teacher, the two of us decided to find out more about the new math teacher at HHS.
Mr. Holdridge was originally from Bloomville, NY with a population of about 500. "In Bloomville you would find a post office, general store, and landfill," Holdridge said describing his hometown. He was one of twenty three in his graduating class. He grew up on a farm, drinking fresh cow’s milk. Because of this, he prefers 2% milk because it is the closest to milk right from a cow. His favorite breed of cow is the Holstein.
Mr. Holdridge has a wife and infant daughter. In his spare time, he spends time with his daughter. Like any average person he enjoys watching television shows, such as "Friends" or "How I Met Your Mother" on Netflix. Mr. Holdridge used to fix up houses and his favorite food is watermelon, and his favorite snack is dried mangos. He enjoys watching football and playing soccer. And of course, like every millennial, his phone is an LG Cosmo.
Overall, Holdridge says he really enjoys working at Hilton, "I like the overall culture and climate of HHS." He describes Hilton as, “the perfect blend of rural and suburban,” and he describes his colleagues as nice people and the students as respectful. He says the students are more respectful, as a whole, than at any other school where he has taught. After teaching at schools where students didn't value learning he appreciates that students at HHS truly do. He did enjoy the “drive-your-tractor- to-school-day.” Mr. Holdridge says that he actually drove a tractor to his own prom and brought a girl from two hours away because she would actually ride on the tractor too.
Talking with students who have Mr. Holdridge revealed that overall, they think of him as "a funny and nice teacher - once you get to him." Although some students thought Mr. Holdridge was a little tough to follow in the beginning of the year, the general consensus seems to be, like Marina DelVecchio's, "I appreciate him and his teaching."
In response to teaching methods and approaches to learning, Mr. Holdridge has his own approaches and realizes students learn differently. His goal is to help every student he can so that they better understand math and grow as math students. He says, “success is an arbitrary word” and wants to help students stay or become successful in math.