It is the end of the school year which means that we will soon have to say goodbye to a few of our favorite teachers. This year, 17 middle school teachers are leaving and over the next 15 school days, The Direct Message will post an ‘Exit Interview’ that we conducted with each of these educators.
Check out all the Exit Interviews by clicking here: Exit Interviews
Mr. Nathan Smith
3 Years at AES: 2014 – 2017
Next Stop: Hanoi, Vietnam – United Nations International School
Courses Taught: Math 6, 4th grade teacher, and Math Support
What will you miss most about AES? Other than the people, I love the architecture and landscaping of AES. I doubt I will ever find a more beautiful campus.
What is the best part about being a teacher at AES? The school philosophy of having a “growth mindset” makes teaching a rewarding experience. It creates a rigorous environment where everyone can be successful.
What are your plans for next year and what are your thoughts about this next step? I am moving to Hanoi, Vietnam where I will be teaching 5th grade at the United Nations International School. I hear Hanoi has a charming culture and the school has a good reputation. My family is excited for our next adventure.
How do you hope your students and colleagues will remember you? I hope everyone will remember me for being a caring teacher who treated everyone with love and respect. I hope students appreciate my enthusiasm for modeling math and that my colleagues recognize my hard work and teamwork. FInally, I hope people remember me as a person who smiled a lot.
What message would you like to leave for the community at AES? It feels good to give.
What the students had to say.
Zoe Verma, sixth grader
What will you remember about Mr. Smith? I will remember his fun approach to math. When I first came to AES, I didn’t like math that much, but he made me really appreciate it.
What makes Mr. Smith unique? What made Mr. Smith unique from other teachers was his real passion for what he taught. Because he liked math so much, it made us like math too.
What is a funny or memorable story you have about Mr. Smith? When I was first moving to Delhi from the states, my old teacher said that one of her best friends was Mr. Smith, who was a fourth grade teacher at AES. At that point I knew that I was going into sixth grade, so I knew I wouldn’t have him. I didn’t think very much about it, until on the first day of school I saw the name Nathan Smith. At that moment, I thought, Oh my God, Oh my God. It was just such a random thing that my teacher from my old school was best friends with my math teacher this year.
Lewis Tanner, sixth grader
What will you remember about this teacher? I will remember how every class I walked in, ready to learn something new, and how I knew that even if I didn’t understand something, Mr. Smith would make sure I would.
What makes Mr. Smith unique?
I will remember how kind Mr. Smith was to everyone in his class, regardless of how good they were at math.
What is a funny or memorable story that you have about Mr. Smith?
I joined in the middle of the year, and my very first class at AES was with Mr. Smith. Even though I was really nervous, he made me feel comfortable in the class.
Menaha Malik, seventh grader
What will you remember about Mr. Smith? Mr. Smith was always a funny, creative and crazy in a good way teacher. He applied fun to every aspect of his teaching, and was very creative with how he taught his students – lemonade, brownies, board games. Also, every time my class stepped into his classroom, he’d be playing music he and his band made, and he’d be singing and dancing a long. He’s always been a really fun teacher.
What makes Mr. Smith unique? Again, he makes things easy to understand by using and doing things he knows kids like. It’s like one of his top priorities is for his kids to have fun and enjoy learning.
What is a funny or memorable story you have about Mr. Smith? I’ll always remember Mr. Smith singing to “Purple Waves” by Prince, saying he was basically the Justin Bieber at that time. His singing was quite off tune, but he sung and danced in his funky ways anyways. Mr. Smith is a very fun teacher. Every class of his had been I class I looked forward to.
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