By Vivienne Frenz
Summer break was coming to end, so I checked my schedule in Infinite Campus. To my disbelief, I saw AP Calculus BC and started to freak out. But luckily, Mr. Meuret made this scary class one of the easiest and enjoyable classes this year.
Many students may not know about Mr. Meuret since he is a new math teacher here, fresh out of college. He graduated from UW-Whitewater and took over for his predecessor, Mrs. Kohn. He bravely took on the challenge of teaching two AP courses (AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC) new to DDHS since Mrs. Kohn decided to make them Gateway credit courses years ago, in addition to Pre-Calculus and Algebra II. In fact, on his first day he “didn’t even have a stapler”, but now has all the materials, and feels “like I got to know all the students”. He admits he doesn’t know everything, but is learning along with his students. “Now”, Mueret said, breathing a sigh of relief, “I’ve got a system down.”
Despite all these challenges, Mr. Mueret enjoys teaching, especially showing how math is not as complicated as it looks. He uses the tips and tricks he learned in college to help teach his students. Many students dislike math. He claimed, “everyone hates math, so I want to show why it’s not as bad”. One of his favorite skills in math is using synthetic division (Synthetic Division of Polynomials – This video provides good examples) instead of long division when integrating with definite integrals. Defying all odds, he actually discovered that you don’t have to use long division at all. “Don’t shy away from stuff that looks difficult, at least try. Especially in math!” Math is a very essential skill that is needed in everyday life and helps us grow in areas like problem solving, comprehension, and memorization.
When I inquired why Mr. Meuret chose teaching math as a career he said, “being a teacher is in my blood.” Even his Dad is a college professor; “everyone on my dad’s side is a teacher.” A major choice in his decision beside his family’s history was to challenge himself. Public speaking was a difficulty that he chose to overcome by being an education major. “If I can conquer that, what can’t I conquer?”, he exclaimed. This math teacher has confidence in himself to pursue anything that interests him. His advice is to “start at the bottom, be genuine, and work up the ladder.” Being humble is a great attribute Mr. Meuret has and provides a good example for all students to follow.
Along with the skills Meuret conquered, he also is proficient in Japanese. He studied during college and, when asked why he chose that language, he noted that, “Spanish and German are great languages to learn but are typical. Japanese is something different. The writing system really stood out to me; they’re like pictures.” Meuret had the opportunity to study abroad in Japan at UW-Whitewater. In fact, his dream vacation is to go back, especially to the “northern islands in Japan” highlighting that they “have monkeys in hotsprings”. Along with his hobby of studying Japanese, Mr. Meuret has a daily boxing routine and enjoys making fun of his brothers.
Next, I questioned Mr. Meuret about what he liked about our school. He replied, “It feels like home. I grew up in a small town and I can tell that the town cares about students and school.” He then pulled up the school district’s website on his computer. “For example, on the school website, there are videos showing everything the school offers, like music and sports. To me, that shows the care, fun, and learning DDHS has.” Mr. Mueret truly has a great love for this community and his pupils.
To conclude our conversation, I proposed to Mr. Meuret something he himself brings up in class often: his baldness. He, of course, laughed. “Can’t change it. It’s a natural part of being a guy.” He deals with this by making fun of himself and often makes jokes about his baldness — even though he knows (at least for Calc BC) they won’t make us laugh. Meuret told me that he plans to completely shave his head one day. Smiling, he said, “I use it as a tool for teaching.” He recently decided to tell a joke every day of the year to his students which are in a little joke book he carries around. This year he is especially looking forward to seeing the seniors graduate, “I’m excited to see their hard work pay off!” The math teacher’s advice is to “start at the bottom, be genuine, and work up the ladder,” which is excellent guidance for people heading to the workforce or further their education.
Lastly, Mr. Meuret remarked that, “If you never do more than you are paid for you’ll never be paid for more than what you do.” He puts his all into teaching and goes out of his way to find answers to questions that he has no idea about. He gives us students second chances, especially when he knows we can do so much better. He truly makes (at least for me) Calculus a fun class, however challenging and fast paced it may be.
thecometeer