New math teacher Sam Bill loves teaching, talking about math

New math teacher Sam Bill is passionate about Math and loves teaching. “I love everything about math,” he said. 

Bill grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, where he attended North Quincy High School. After high school, he completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at UMass Amherst. While in graduate school, Bill was a teaching assistant whose responsibilities included lecturing, grading papers, and holding office hours. He enjoyed his assistant job, and after graduation, he started privately tutoring students. “I enjoy talking to students about math, and not just doing applied math,” he said. 

Originally, after graduation, Bill worked as a financial process analyst at State Street Corporation in Hadley. After working there for a while, Bill decided to leave the corporation. “I realized the corporate world wasn’t for me,” he said. Bill also likes that he can talk about math all day at this job, which he couldn’t do at his previous job. 

“I decided to try my hand at classroom teaching,” Bill said, when referring to what he wanted to do as a career after graduate school. Although Bill wasn’t planning on being a classroom teacher this fall, when he saw the application, he thought he would give it a try. 

It was also particularly appealing to Bill because he lives in Amherst, so his commute is very short. Bill is currently teaching Algebra 1 and Geometry, and he will also be teaching those courses in the Spring semester this year. 

One thing Bill learned as a teaching assistant and tutor was how to relieve anxiety around math. Since math is a cumulative subject and requires understanding of what the student learned in their previous math classes, many students experience anxiety. “I want them to find a solid ground,” said Bill. 

Bill tries his best to reward asking questions, as he sees questions as the most important part of learning math. “If [a student] is struggling, I want [them] to ask a lot of questions,” said Bill. “There’s no moral failing in not knowing what to do.” 

Bill’s favorite part of the job is the students. He finds that “they show a lot of initiative, come for extra help, and ask questions.”

One challenge for Bill at ARHS is the delayed start time. At previous jobs, Bill has started work at 8:30 a.m., but here at ARHS, it’s 9:05 a.m. This makes it difficult for Bill to meet with kids after school, and he often finds himself burned out by 3:35 p.m., when school ends. 

When Bill first arrives home after school, he is greeted by his cat. “I get excited about seeing my cat every day,” said Bill. 

Some of Bill’s hobbies when he’s not doing math are rock climbing, biking, and playing video games. He also always drinks black coffee before work. “[Black coffee] is very important for my continued existence,” said Bill. 

He has noticed that this approach to learning has worked well for his classroom, as more students are asking him questions than at the beginning of the year, and he hopes to continue encouraging students to ask questions and reducing anxiety around math for years to come.