As the Prep community ushered in a new school year, the math department was greeted by the new faces of teachers, including Lucero, Mr. Oyediran, and Dr. Jaffe. These faculty, instructing classes from Geometry to AP Calculus, have already begun to make their impact in the Prep community through their teaching styles, new perspectives, and wide range of talents. The Flintridge Press was eager to interview them to better learn about their backgrounds and experiences, and, most importantly, share their stories with our school community. 

I first spoke to Lucero, who teaches Geometry and Precalculus. She first became interested in math because it was a gateway for her to learn about many exciting subjects—physics, architecture, chemistry, logic, and, one of her biggest passions, computer science. Lucero was drawn to Prep after her in-person interview at the school, where she witnessed firsthand the community of faculty and student body. She appreciates the students’ attitude and work ethic towards learning and support of the administration. In her math classes, she’s most looking forward to teaching students about 3D shapes and trigonometry. During class, she hopes that students take away that math education in high school is just the beginning—building up a basis to gain a lot of new insights later in life. Math is in everything, and located everywhere in the world. She describes her teaching style as a balance between lectures and exploration—some presenting and some figuring stuff out on your own. 

Afterwards, I spoke to Mr. O, who found math to be one of the subjects he could really see himself doing throughout college. Mr. O was drawn to Prep both during his interview and during a student-led tour. He gained a connection with the school community and thought that it was a good fit. His favorite part of Prep life is the school campus because it is a great workplace and environment. In his math classes, he’s most looking forward to teaching, learning, and readjusting. He spends a lot of time implementing different lesson plans and is excited to see the effect of the changes he has implemented on his students.  Mr. O hopes that students learn that anyone can do math—it just requires time and practice. In one sentence, Mr. O would describe his teaching style as a little chaotic, a little fun, a little distracting, but a lot of practice. 

Finally, I spoke to Dr. Jaffe, who was first drawn to math because of its precision and firmness. There’s always a logically consistent set of rules that you can take to get to a solution. He also appreciated the tools that you learn in math—especially the ability to solve complex problems through the use of logic. Of all the schools Dr. Jaffe interviewed at, Prep stood out to him. He was drawn to the sense of community, like the fact that many of the faculty members are friends. He appreciated that the environment was academically high achieving, but, more importantly, that it was a social and kind atmosphere. In his math classes, he’s looking forward to explaining the “whys” of math to his students, even sneaking in proofs to teach his students why and how things work. Dr. Jaffe hopes that after taking his class, students will leave with the idea that math is really meant to be enjoyable. In one sentence, he describes his teaching style as thorough, clear, and detail-oriented, with a focus on the why and not the how. 

Overall, I was struck by Lucero, Mr. O, and Dr. Jaffe’s enthusiasm and care about their math classes and students. I’m hoping that their personalities will be felt on Prep’s campus for years to come.