A recently engaged Mr. Carson sat down with the Warrior Word to talk about everything from college, high school, his fiancé , and his love of Biology.
Elisheva Adouth: Is this your first time being interviewed for The Warrior Word?
Mr. Carson: Yes
E: I heard you got engaged, how was that?
C: Amazing, I proposed during Christmas time. It was a Christmas present under the tree. I gave her the last present, it was a ring, and it was very romantic and awesome.
E: Tell me about your wedding plans.
C: It’s gonna be super. It’s in October, in the fall, in the mountains, and it’ll be really beautiful and I’m really excited.
E: You teach a lot of classes, so which is your favorite?
C: Yes, I do. I teach honors and regular Biology to freshman, Anatomy and Physiology to juniors, I teach AP Biology for seniors, and I teach a photography elective. I like them all but generally AP Biology is the most interesting because it’s the highest level. Lots of labs, and very complicated experiments.
E: I heard that there are only 4 kids in your AP Biology class, how’s that?
C: Yeah, this year there are 4 kids, but there are usually only around 4 to 6 kids. It’s small, but most people don’t want to do that much work as seniors; it’s a lot of work, its AP.
E: Is our high school similar to your high school at all?
C: Yeah, a little bit. I went to a small high school too, but not as small as this one. I guess it’s not that similar though, I was in the country. You guys are in a city. I don’t know, high school was a long time ago.
E: How was your high school experience?
C: High school was easy, it wasn’t that much work. You don’t really start having a lot of work until you get to college, if I remember correctly. I would like to think I was a good student, I did most of my work.
E: Where’d you go to college?
C: I went to SUNY New Paltz for my undergraduate degree which is like a state school. I went to Bard college for my masters degree, they’re both upstate colleges in New York.
E: What did you think about college?
C: College was probably one of the most memorable portions of my life. I liked it a lot, college is fun. I did 4 undergrad, a year in between and then my masters was one year.
E: What did you do in the year between?
C: It was a gap year, I took a year off, saved money and then I traveled a little bit.
E: You’re always telling students about your travels, what was your favorite place?
C: All of the places are awesome, the most memorable has got to be in Peru, the hike to the Inca trail, the ends of Machu Picchu, that’s the most breathtakingly memorable experience of my life to this point. Words can’t describe how incredible it is there.
E: Where else have you been?
C: Panama, Columbia, The Bahamas, and I’m going to Japan in the spring break with my fiancé, we are going to go chaperone some students.
E: What does your fiancé do?
C: She’s also a teacher in Doral, she teaches AP Psychology, we’re both very science-y.
E: How did you guys meet?
C: Here in Miami, when I moved down here from New York. I didn’t know anybody, and then I met her and then we started talking and then we went on a date and then we went on lots of dates and then the next thing you know we’re engaged. We’ve been together just about three years.
E: What brought you to Miami?
C: I disliked the ice, snow, and cold of New York. I really love my hometown, I love the mountains, I love upstate New York, the valley is incredible. I just can’t stand the snow, the cold, and the ice. So, the land of eternal sunshine and the beach called my name, Hebrew Academy offered me a job, I signed up and it’s been a good match ever since.
E: Are you going to move back?
C: Probably not, it’s unlikely. I will go back, I go back and visit when it’s not cold and snowy. Where I want to live with my fiancé is an evolving conversation, she’s a Miami girl.
E: Do you like science outside of teaching it?
C: I’ve always liked science in all regards, it’s fascinating. It’s how the world works and I like to understand how things work. I was always into biology, even from a young age. I would run around outside in the woods and collect insects, bugs, salamanders, and lizards and identify them and set up little habitats and terrariums and note the differences between them. I just kept studying it and the more I studied it, the more it engaged me and then it drew me in.
E: What drew you to teaching?
C: I always really liked science, but I always really liked to explain all the exciting stuff I discovered to people. All along everybody told me I would make a good teacher, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be really fun. Then I started tutoring and doing a little bit of it and I enjoyed it. My masters is in education and then I got into it, and I started student teaching and I loved it so I knew it was the right track.
E: How was the student teaching?
C: It’s part of your education degree, I student taught Biology. You start off and you get hooked up with a mentor teacher who’s been doing it for a long time, and then you go in and you get familiar with your class and you observe, and watch, and learn and then, they do one lesson and you practice what they do. Then they give you a topic and you teach a class and then they critique it, and then eventually, they transition you into doing all the planning and learning how to do it. It’s very helpful, it’s a cool experience.
E: Do you know any other sciences well?
C: I minored in Chemistry in college, so I know a lot of Chemistry. I could teach it if I had to but my passion is Biology. Chemistry’s cool but I was more into the living side of things than the non-living side of things. Chemistry gets very math-y when you get into college and I like math but it was not nearly as cool as putting my face in the microscope and looking at all the stuff.
By: Elisheva Adouth (10th grade)
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