Mr. McDonough’s Journey of Becoming a Science Teacher

Mr. McDonough is a science teacher at IMS. He enjoys Pokémon, reading books, and teaching. We decided to interview him because we wanted to learn more about his science career and what made him start it!

 

Press: Why did you want to become a science teacher?

Mr. McDonough: I liked being able to take complex ideas and put them in a way where people are able to understand.

Press: When did you consider becoming a science teacher?

Mr. McDonough: I considered it when one of my professors asked me if I wanted to work with science.

Press: Do you think science is a challenging topic to understand?

Mr. McDonough: It depends on who you are and what approach you have. Many subjects can be difficult, science tends to line up with math in terms of logic and irrational thinking compared to history and English language arts which are more about analysis in a different way. Sometimes it can be more subjective in a thing like poetry. Regarding science itself, there are things in science that I don’t understand that no one knows.

Press: What do you like about science?

Mr. McDonough: I like that it lets us understand more about the universe. I like that even the smallest parts can be explained often by mathematical rules. I like that you can be wrong in science.

Press: Have you considered taking on another job?

Mr. McDonough: Yes, for a time I used to work for the musculoskeletal transplant foundation for Edison. I was a technician there for a quarter of the year and then I realized, I don’t like this job.

Press: Who or what inspired you?

Mr. McDonough: My mom for starters; she is a teacher over at South Plainfield Middle School. She is an inspiration for me to come out of my way and help kids to go that extra mile.

Press: When teaching, what would you like to see in a classroom?

Mr. McDonough: I liked to see students that are involved and helping each other out.

Press: What skills do you use when teaching?

Mr. McDonough: Observation would probably be one of the skills to see if people are doing what they are supposed to or not. Empathy, I’m not your guidance counselor but I’m still there for you. The ability to multi-task also.

Press: What would you say makes a good teacher?

Mr. McDonough: A teacher needs to be flexible and help people out.

Press: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Mr. McDonough: A lot, science in general is really fun and I like being able to work with students and help them.