The Life of Monty Adams
I chose to interview Monty Adams because I think he's the best science teacher in Latino Youth. I see that he actually cares for his students and tries to help them pass his class. Although Mr. Adams is strict with his grading policy, as long as you can communicate with him, he will be understanding of your situation. Even though many students give him a hard time, he doesn't give up on teaching the students that actually care. He always tells us, for example, “People should pay attention to the world around them and the different views of people so we don't get another Trump."
Before Becoming a Teacher
Before Mr. Adams became a teacher, he had gone to study for 1 year at the State University of New York, then joined the Air Force at 19 years old. Mr. Adams said about joining the Air Force: “I’m glad I joined because I think everyone should work in public service.” Once he was out of the Air Force, he went to DePaul, then he started working for the police department. Eventually, he got a Master’s degree from Northwestern and then got another master’s degree in teaching biology from National Louis University. His path towards becoming a teacher was coming together at this point.
Passions
Aome of Mr. Adams' interests are that he enjoys making music in his free time; he had joined the Chicago orchestra—that's when his passion for music started. After that, he also spent 3 years as a freelancemusician in Chicago before he went to the Air Force and was the principal flutist of the US Air Force Band in Washington, DC. He also talks about how he never was in a band till he had joined the air force. He also has rehearsal every Monday night for his band that has 54 people in it and has 10 different concerts in a suburb of Chicago, which he enjoys doing because it brings him some joy.
His teaching career
Despite Mr. Adams liking music a lot, he is a science teacher. He never wanted to be a teacher, but once he became a teacher, he liked the fact of being appreciated by his students and felt empathy for his students and tried to make their lives easier. He also enjoys having discussions with his students and would rather see his students learn than him grading papers. He also mentions how his favorite topic to teach about is healthy relationships. Mr. Adams also mentions how CPS rules would not let teachers teach about STDs and being safe when having sex, so working with Latino youth, he had the opportunity of teaching more. He always reminds his students to “use condoms for protection, not guns.”
Xochitl R.