By ABBY GROFF
Staff Writer
Michael Kruger is a new English teacher on campus at El Diamante and is excited to be starting his first year, despite the new virtual learning.
How long have you been teaching students?
This is my first year as an official teacher – while I’ve done student teaching and coaching before, this is my first time as a full-fledged teacher. It feels like I’m a freshman again!
What made you want to become a teacher?
I wanted to become a teacher because I went to El Diamante High School myself! A lot of the teachers here – who I now have to call “coworkers”, which is crazy – were incredibly inspirational to me and helped me decide that this was what I wanted to do with my life. It also helps that I come from a family full of teachers (students coming in from Linwood Elementary may recognize my mom from their art class!) so it was a natural career to choose.
What’s it like experiencing teaching in a virtual environment?
Teaching in a virtual environment is crazy enough as is, but being a new teacher at the same time is absolutely wild. There’s been a lot of fun technical issues – I’ve already had to teach from my phone when wi-fi shut down in my classroom – but it’s an interesting experience to build up skills in. There’s a lot we can do this way we can’t normally, so it’s exciting to make the most of what we have!
Do you have any hobbies you think people would find interesting?
I don’t know if my hobbies are “interesting” per se but I’m definitely a huge nerd. I love animation, video games, anime, tabletop games, and things like that. Also, while I’m an English teacher, I’m also an art minor, so I love to draw and make designs, and I like working that into my lessons. Maybe one day I’ll expand my teaching subjects…?
What’s one important message you have for your students this year?
Things are tough and weird and kind of hot garbage right now – don’t worry! Everyone is feeling it. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or feel stressed out, because trust me, we all can sympathize. We’re all in this together, so make sure you’re doing whatever you can to keep calm and get through this.