A Math Teacher, a Coach, and an Advisor: The One and Only Mr. Sjoberg

In honor of Mr. Sjoberg: What’s a swimmer's favorite kind of math? Dive-ision!

If you’ve watched a faculty vs. 8th-grade sports game, you’ve probably noticed the bearded, formerly man-bunned teacher who outplays all the 8th graders. You might have even had this man as your math teacher, or, if you’re like me, your advisor. This is Mr. Sjoberg, one of the two Sjoberg brothers: cheerful, humorous, engaging, passionate, and athletic. Unfortunately, like Profe Sjoberg, Mr. Sjoberg will be partially saying farewell to our community this year. He has chosen to keep his reasons private.

Mr. Sjoberg’s teaching career began when he came to Seattle and started coaching chess. He realized he loved it, and after pushing back against the idea of teaching for his whole life, took his first teaching job here at Lakeside. Currently, Mr. Sjoberg is a 6th- and 7th-grade math teacher and one of the coaches of the high school boys’ swim team. This combination of jobs, which can start with 6 am swim practices before the Middle School day begins at 8, can feel rushed. However, he says it is 100% worth it, because he is “a community man,” which shows because we count on him to organize Friday Fun Days.

Clearly, he is a man who loves fun: he “can’t go seven minutes without making a joke.” With an arsenal of dad jokes and math-related puns at his disposal, he says that his only goal is to make exploration fun for his students.

His coaching was also extremely successful, because Lakeside, despite being a smaller school, has won four state championships since he started. This year, when the boys won state, Mr. Sjoberg followed through on his bet with the swimmers, letting them cut off eleven inches of his hair. He loves it when he gets to coach swimmers he has taught before, and although he is leaving the math department, he hopes to continue to coach the Upper School swim team.

When I asked Mr. Sjoberg what he would tell every middle schooler, he replied, “Don’t take yourself too seriously.” As middle schoolers, he encourages us to be silly and irrational and take every chance we can, because it is the prime time to make mistakes. He thinks that endorphins can make mundane tasks easier to complete, like “dancing while doing chores” or “listening to music while doing homework."

Thank you Mr. Sjoberg, for always being an alge-bro and giving the Lakeside community many punny years! You will be sorely missed.