Teacher of the Year

Mr. Luis Loweree, science teacher and department head, was named teacher of the year  in early February. The Growler caught up with Mr. Loweree in between one of his environmental classes and his JV soccer practice to ask about his approach and advice he may have.

What expectations do you have when are teaching ?

I’ve been trying a lot of new things so I  expected it not to go as smoothly than I hoped. But if I’m using methods or approaches from the past my expectations are based on results I’ve had before. If it’s something that’s engaging to students and they have enjoyed it then I look forward to working with them. It it’s something that’s challenging, that I know they need to get through it then I kind of mentally prepare myself and make sure that I can motivate them and challenge them to learn things that are a little bit more difficult.

What has been the toughest challenge you faced in the classroom?

Learning how to work with the students so they are engaged and they are motivated while presenting material to them that’s necessary in class and connecting those elements that apply most to their lives today and in the future.

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

I was in college getting my second degree and I was a tutor at El Paso High School and I ended up graduating and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do and the counselors suggested ‘why don’t you teach next year?’ For whatever reason, I never thought of it and I was really glad they suggested that because I had really enjoyed my experience tutoring, I got to work very closely with the students … and that was all very enjoyable to me and I had never put two and two together and figured I could do this full time.

What advice would you give to other teachers who are new to the profession?

I would say don’t be afraid to fail and don’t be afraid to try new things and to always try and work as hard as you can. And if you’re doing that, you don’t have to worry too much about criticism about others, because that’s a challenge I have all the time and I don’t get to focus my energy on teaching and helping students I’m most concerned about. What other people think about my teaching approach. Be confident in your approach and as long as you’re challenging yourself and working as hard as you can you’ll be fine.