Mr. Cahill’s teaching career

Mr. Cahill is a teacher at IMS who teaches World Language Survey. He has taught many grades from middle school and high school. He speaks fluent Chinese and other languages.

 

Press: Why did you choose to become a teacher?

 

Mr. Cahill: I quit business school and became a teacher because I thought it was a cool gig, and I wanted more time to become a musician, and I wanted to be true to myself.

 

Press: Which school do you like teaching more middle school or high school?

 

Mr. Cahill: High school because they know how to treat you with respect and decency.

 

Press: Which behaves worse, high school or middle school?

 

Mr. Cahill: Middle school does because they don’t listen and don’t stop talking.

 

Press: How did you go from teaching high school to teaching both high school and middle school?

 

 Mr. Cahill: I was sent down to middle school to bring students into liking World Language so they would want to learn more in high school.

 

Press: Do you teach the same thing in high school as middle school?

 

Mr. Cahill: No, unfortunately, in middle school, I have to try to speak French and Spanish even though I really only know how to speak Chinese.

 

Press: How did you learn to speak Chinese?

 

Mr. Cahill: I didn’t have a lot of options since I wasn’t a great student, so I joined the Marine Corps to fix up my problems, and it did, and I got a G.I Bill which is like money for college. I was determined to prove that I was a good student so I chose Chinese since I thought it was hard and impressive. Then my teachers noticed I was really into learning Chinese, so they gave me a scholarship, and I visited a lot of Chinese cities, but then I realized I didn’t want to live in China for the rest of my life, and that’s when I went to business school in the US.

 

Press: What was your favorite place?

 

Mr. Cahill: I enjoyed living in Taiwan in the capital, Taipei City it  was very beautiful, and I earned it after the Marine Corps, which let me live in paradise for like a year. 

 

Press: What is the craziest thing you have seen?

 

Mr. Cahill: The clothes we used to wear were very different from what we wear now.

 

Press: What type of clothes did you wear?

 

Mr. Cahill: One thing I remember is this thing called crazy pants, where people have crazy patterns in their clothes.

 

Press: What was your favorite grade to teach?

 

Mr. Cahill: My favorite grade to teach was 9th grade because that’s when they just come into high school and they act like a good class, but then in 10th, they know the deal and start misbehaving.

 

Press: Is there anything else you would like to add?

 

Mr.Cahill: No, thank you.