After spending a year as a teacher and secondary dormitory parent at the Forman School in Connecticut, Mr. English joins the Belmont Hill science department for his first year of teaching at the school. A 2014 graduate of Bowdoin College, Mr. English teaches Form VI physics, engineering, and Middle School art. The diverse group of classes that Mr. English teaches attests to his array of knowledge and talents, as well as the many different interests that Mr. English has cultivated throughout the years.
Growing up in Newton, Pennsylvania, a small town roughly 35 miles north of Philadelphia, Mr. English excelled on the sports field, while also becoming very involved in extracurricular activities throughout his time in high school. He played football all four years, basketball as a Freshman and Sophomore, and lacrosse as a Junior and Senior. “In high school I was also really involved in student government, which was kind of my main focus outside of sports,” added Mr. English, who also enjoyed spending time in several other groups and clubs as well.
From there, Mr. English attended Bowdoin College, where he played football for four years. He eventually became very involved in student life starting in his junior year, becoming a member of Ladd House as a Sophomore. “Living in a college house was a great experience, but as I moved out of there and was looking for a greater place in the college community, that was when I joined ResLife.” Starting as a first year proctor during his junior year, Mr. English eventually became the head proctor of a first-year dorm where he was in charge of the dorm operation and activity planning. Mr. English believes that his path towards becoming a teacher started with his time spent in ResLife. Regarding what he planned to do for work after college, Mr. English said “I was really unsure as to what I wanted to do,” but his boss at the time set him up with a job as a teaching assistant for Upward Bound, a program for low income or future first-generation students. His job involved certain responsibilities within the school such as “assisting students in residential life, monitoring students’ progress in science, math, and writing courses, and leading weekend activities.”
After a positive experience at Upward Bound, Mr. English headed off to teach science at the Forman School in rural Litchfield, Connecticut. However, he wanted to live and work in a more metropolitan location. Thus, Mr. English decided to reach out to a network of Bowdoin football alumni to identify teaching possibilities in the Boston area. Mr. English eventually found Mr. Butler and contacted him for more information about Belmont Hill, which resulted in a school visit. “Belmont Hill really seemed like a great fit in terms of everything that I wanted out of a professional experience.” Thus far, Mr. English has enjoyed his first month at the school thanks to the “perfect balance” between a wonderful professional environment and the separation of work and personal life. “The level of support here from faculty and students is tremendous, helping me understand where I need to go, where I need to be, what the expectation level is. It’s all just very clear.”
Within our very first week of senior year physics, certain students within the class had a very interesting discussion with Mr. English about music, in particular Kanye West’s process when creating his last album, Yeezus. It is discussions like these that provides a new and interesting experience for students as they try and familiarize themselves with a new face on the Belmont Hill staff. Since Mr. English is just one year removed from college, he is still able to have conversations about topics that are relevant to the daily lives of many Belmont Hill students. This connection between a teacher and his students is very helpful in fostering a creative classroom environment.
