BY ANJALI PATEL
STAFF WRITER
“The students here really encompass the golden rule of treating others the way they want to be treated, and it’s really awesome to see.”
Our new math teacher here at MSA, Mr. Schaak, teaches middle school math one and two. This is his first year at MSA, and he loves the rigorous content that the school teaches and the student’s ability to want to work hard. His preferred pronouns are he/him/his.
Mr. Schaak likes to read, play sports, lift weights, and go hiking. His favorite sports team is the Vikings, and he has a border collie who he loves to spend time with. His favorite colors are blue and green. His favorite candy is sour gummy bears. He is a morning person who likes to start the day off right. His favorite animal is a lion because of how majestic it is. His favorite book is The Shining by Steven King, and his favorite movie is Remember the Titans. Mr. Schaak has a master’s degree in athletic administration. His mom is a teacher, his brother works at a bank, and his dad is an accountant. Mr. Schaak’s dream come true would be to be a division one at the University of Minnesota.
Mr. Schaak decided to become a math teacher because math and numbers were always easy for him, and he had lots of confidence with it. He wants to show kids the benefit of learning math, whether it’s knowing how much gas is left or how much the bill is going to be, he thinks it is important for everyone to understand and enjoy all the aspects even if sometimes it doesn’t make sense. One of the hardest things about teaching math that Mr. Schaak finds is when a student doesn’t enjoy the aspects and the growth mindset of math and getting them to want to be there. Mr. Schaak’s advice to all students is to continue to use your grit when things get difficult, continue to work through it, stay positive, and use that growth mindset to make the problem easier.