An interview with Mr. Yowell

Today I had the opportunity to interview Syringa Middle School’s very own Math genius, Mr. Yowell! My helper and I asked him a variety of questions, including some that might even help you.  We started off the interview with questions regarding his college work, and then went on to his favorite years of school and subjects in those years. We asked for some advice and what else he would do if he weren’t a Math teacher.  Here are the questions we asked:

1)      What or who made you want to become a teacher?

Mr. Yowell said he went to college with no career or major in mind. He was told to try a class in each and every department. He did just that and found that the Education department was what he liked and he stuck with it.

2)      If you could teach any other subject what would it be?

He said that if he wasn’t to teach math, that he’d love to teach the German language.

3)      Do you often get the question “When will I use this in life?” and what is usually your answer?

He said that he gets the question a lot! The answer to that question is actually that you will use math everywhere. It actually depends on how advanced the math is. Some math is a lot like sports fundamentals. Like learning to dribble a basketball, you don’t just stand there and dibble, but you will use it as a skill during the game!

4)      What would you like to do, job wise, if you weren’t a teacher?

Either a Programming Architect or an Actuary.  Interesting fact; an actuary is a number cruncher for insurance companies.

5)      What is your favorite thing about your job here at Syringa?

“I like sharing my love of math…excitement of Math. If that makes sense.”

6)      What advice would you give students wanting to become a teacher?

Volunteer at elementary schools as an aide. See what it’s like from the teacher’s view. It can actually be quite the surprise.

7)      What college did you go to? What made you decide to go there?

Mr. Yowell went to the College of Idaho, here in Caldwell, Idaho. He went there for 3 reasons. Ultimately the cheapest school for him to go to. He wanted to go to a small school. He wanted to go to a liberal arts college because he agrees with their philosophy, “Learn a little about everything and you know a lot about everything”

Stay tuned for the other half of the Interview!