Interviewing One of the Most Famous Teachers at NHS: Mr. Ayache

As requested by the student body through the amazing Hilltopper instagram (casual plug: @hilltoppernhs,) Kathleen Grady and I set out to interview Mr. Ayache, one of the most well known teachers in the school. Seriously, if you go to Needham High School and do not know who Mr. Ayache is, what is up with that?

Mr. Ayache teaches four first-year accelerated Biology classes and a senior honors Marine Biology class, however he used to teach Astronomy, Meteorology, Earth Science, and Chemistry. One of the main reasons he is so famous amongst the student body is due to how long he is teaching, as he told us that he has been teaching at Needham High School for over fourty years. If one of your parents, aunts, or uncles went to Needham High School, they may recognize his name if brought up in conversation! While Kathleen and I had him as our first-year accelerated biology teacher and got to know a little bit about him through this (like how he fluently speaks 5 languages! ) people wanted to learn more about who he is, outside of being a teacher, so we decided to come up with a couple of questions to get to know him better.

Questions Regarding Teaching:

1. Did you always want to be a teacher?

Mr. Ayache explained that, no, he was not planning on being a teacher. Instead, he wanted to be an engineer, architect, or geologist! He explains, “I went to Boston College for my undergrad years and double majored in geology and biology, got my masters from Boston College (M.S.), and went to American University in Beirut to study Paleontology.” His main mindset was that geologists can travel (he loves to travel) but that the corporate world would be too cutthroat for him. He later decided to be a teacher after realizing he was always helping kids throughout life: “I wanted to help people more, so when the position arose in Needham, I took it. I felt comfortable here and was only going to stay for a few years to get a PhD, but staying was really rewarding and I liked my interactions with the students.”

2. What is your favorite story/memory to tell from an old class you had?

While Mr. Ayache initially had nothing come to mind, after further prompting he said he always had fun on field trips (though many classes do not take field trips now because of COVID): “I have always had fun on field trips because I see another side to the students that does not always come out during class, especially with seniors who take marine biology.”

3. What are some traditions or superstitions you have before the first day of school?

Though he knows of other teachers who get stressed out or uptight and need to go to bed by a certain time, Mr. Ayache treats the night “just like any other night.”

4. What makes a ‘great day’ for you at school?

Mr. Ayache finds that in order to have a ‘great day’ at school, “all of (his) students responded positively to his questions or the content”. He also explains that he “would much rather have a talkative class than a quiet class” especially after COVID (which left some classes much less talkative than others).

5. What’s the best thing about being a teacher?

He finds that: “The reward that you get is unique to this profession. When a student makes a connection or gains an insight and they express their excitement, that is really fun to witness, and always gives me a good feeling”

Questions Regarding Personal Life:

1. How do you spend your free time? Any favorite activities or favorite shows to watch?

He explained to Kathleen and I of his love of travel: “I would travel with my wife up to three times a year before the pandemic, to Paris during April vacation, Beirut in summer to visit family, and other countries that interest us or to visit family and friends.”

2. What does a typical Saturday night look like for you?

Mr. Ayache describes the difference between his pre pandemic life and post pandemic life: “Pre pandemic: it was fine, we always had relatives or visitors, people coming over. Our lebanese house is like a greek or italian house, lots of different conversations in the house. With the pandemic however, I have turned into a bit of a ‘recluse’ haha”

3. What time do you generally go to sleep and wake up?

“Normally I am in bed by 9pm but it used to be more like 11-11:30pm. I wake up at 5am and unfortunately it doesn't matter if its a school day or weekend”

4. What time do you get to school?

“I normally get to school at 7am and I do some work before school and stay until 3:30 or 4pm after school”

5. Where are you from?

“My parents are Lebanese Americans (my dad and mom were born in Lebanon). I was born here but I lived in Lebanon until age 8 or 9. Business brought my parents back to Lebanon and in our household, we spoke French, English and Arabic. I also spent many summers in Spain.”

6. What was your first job?

“I taught in Lebanon at a small Armenian college, which was my first real job! I found that the taste of teaching was sweet. When I was younger, I worked during the summer doing other odd-job tasks”

7. Do you have any hidden talents?

Mr. Ayache has many talents, though they may not be hidden to those who take his classes! He speaks several languages, is very good at fixing things (mechanical intuition), is great at navigating european roads (worldly sense of direction), but he explains that his talents are “NOT dancing or piano”.

8. What was your life like 10 years ago, if so what?

“10 years ago my life was pretty much the same. I was still teaching and have stayed with pretty much the same routine from 20 years ago!”

9. What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now?

Mr. Ayache illustrated his plans to Kathleen and I, saying that he will be retired, and if the pandemic lets up he wants to travel the world. Specifically, he would like to celebrate Christmas in Beirut or Paris, and visit his wife’s nephew in Morocco (Casablanca). He also has some friends in Turkey that he would like to see as he has not seen them in a long time!

10. Do you have any social media accounts?

“Nope! Facebook is confusing :( ” To put it kindly, Mr. Ayache’s philosophy when it comes to social media is to leave him alone.

11. Do you have a favorite show, if so what is it?

Mr. Ayache did not have a favorite television show but he does enjoy watching reruns of Blue Blood because he likes the cast.

12. What can you cook to perfection?

If necessary, Mr. Ayache could cook if he were to follow a recipe (he explains “a recipe is like a lab”). His wife likes cooking though, specifically lebanese food!

13. What's your favorite Lebanese dish?

“Tabouli, hummus, lamb meat mixed with cracked wheat (kibbi)” Mr. Ayache also enjoys visiting a restaurant in Norwood called Byblos on Main Street, however it is not as good as home cooked food according to him.

14. Do you have a favorite sport to watch, if so what?

Mr. Ayache likes watching football and says that the Patriots are the team he “lives and dies with,” though their past season was tough. When he was a kid, he lived and died with the Red Sox, and would even sacrifice social events to watch the game!

15. If you could take your students on a field trip to anywhere in the world, where would you take them and why?

He has chaperoned several school trips to Spain (Madrid, Toledo) and two to France which he found nice as he learns more about his students outside of school. If he were able to choose the location though, he would take students to national parks if they were interested in geology (his favorite national parks are Bryce Canyon and Yellowstone)!

Just for kicks questions:

1. If you were to be given a superlative when you were in high school, what do you think it would have been?

“I was actually given a superlative in high school and got most likely to succeed” While Mr. Ayache explains that he did not take stock in this, he appreciated it!

2. What kind of driver were you when you first got your license?

“Definitely cautious and reckless.” He further describes how he drove, saying that he would “approach an intersection with caution but I was crazy when alone”

3. If you could pass any wisdom on to your students, what would it be? This could be high school related, college related, life related, whatever you want!

“Stay committed to your goals, but remain flexible in your approach.” Also, one cannot be disappointed when there are road blocks because you will figure out other ways to get there, even though it's not always easy!

If you read this far Kathleen and I thank you for reading and learning more about one of our favorite teachers: the one, the only, Mr. Ayache!