Mr. Christopher Schmitt is a student-teacher currently here at Prep. He is a student-teacher for Mr. Herrera and helps students in Algebra 2. He studies at Montclair State University as is set to graduate this Spring! He is passionate about teaching and creating a fun, engaging, and safe environment where everyone can express themselves comfortably.
Mr. Schmitt gave us some of his time to answer some questions:
What inspired you to study education?
- “I’ve had some pretty good teachers in my lifetime, and seeing how they engage with me and classmates. It created an environment I want to create and it made me want to do the same thing.”
Growing up, what was your dream career?
- “When I was little I wanted to be an architect. But then I would say around middle school I wanted to become a teacher/educator.”
What do you enjoy most about being a student-teacher here at Prep?
- “The community is very welcoming and I’m learning a lot from Herrera and as well from the other math teachers, but also from other teachers of different subjects.”
What are you most excited/nervous about when you begin to teach?
- “Being on my own by myself, not having somebody there to guide me or teach me what I did wrong. I have to figure out those mistakes on my own and grow from that. “
What is the difference between being a student or being at the front of the room?
- “Being in the front of the room, you’re the one controlling the pace, and as a student you’re following along making sure you’re catching up. But being in front of it, you have to make sure everyone is on time and everyone is doing their work and making sure everyone else is doing what you expect them to do.”
What was your favorite subject growing up?
- “Well math, obviously.”
What made you or inspired you to study/teach that exact subject?
- “Well I mean I’ve always loved math, so I’ve always kind of wanted to do something with mathematics and I thought it would be kind of interesting to be the one to teach future kids and future generations about math.”
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
- “It would be Master Baby Yoda in Episode 8 (of The Mandalorian) when he said, ‘Failure the greatest teacher is.’ Which is true, you learn and grow from your failure.”
If you could have any superpower to help you in the classroom, what would it be?
- “To slow down time, because it just feels like it’s all going too fast.”
What is one thing about this school that you will remember after you leave?
- “I’m definitely not going to forget the style of learning, like the Carnegie learning system. I’ve never worked with anything like that before, so I feel like it’s very interesting to learn about and work with.”
