Teacher Spotlight: Meet Steven Rauscher 

As the new school year begins, you see not only new students here at Masterman, but also new teachers. Mr. Rauscher is a new English teacher, but he is also skilled in instructing a variety of subjects. In addition to 8th-grade English, he teaches World History and AP Psychology, which is a new class this year. This is his fourth year of teaching, and his previous three years were spent at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). 

In addition to teaching, Mr Rauscher also sponsors the Fan-Dancing club.

When asked about his first impression of Masterman, he had nothing but good things to say. Despite his strong love for his previous school, Mr. Rauscher is very happy to be here. He says that teaching here is exciting because the students at Masterman push him to plan challenging lessons that he hasn’t had the opportunity to before. Specifically, he noted, “My favorite thing about Masterman is that the average Masterman student is always ready to sit down and do high-level work. Everyone’s just like ‘All right, we’re in class. Let’s do it. There’s still distraction. There’s still stuff you have to manage, but on average, the things a class full of Masterman students can do are amazing.” 

Furthermore, Mr. Rauscher emphasized the importance of teachers. “My favorite part about teaching is leaving a legacy,” he says, “Every day, I’m showing kids what it’s like to live a complicated and flawed human life, but I’m also preparing them to be good people, which is hard to become.”

Although Rauscher is a teacher now, he continues to dedicate himself to a lifetime of learning. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in history at Gettysburg College. When asked about his decision to specialize in history, he said,” In high school, my highest grades were in math and science, but I had a flat B in history. When I told my counselor I wanted to study history, he asked me for my reasoning behind it. The truth is, I wanted to make it relatable. You give me a problem in history or social studies that has multiple different possible answers that nobody ever knows the full truth of, I can keep a room engaged with forever, and that’s where I want to be.”