“Mr. Swoboda is constantly cheerful- his mood does not change. His usual bright mood helps make it through dreadful first hour,”said Jung Park(10). Mr. Swoboda is an algebra and calculus teacher at Portage Northern High School. On top of teaching, he is also a building chair and the Portage Public Schools High School Math Team Leader. Among all of Swoboda’s responsibilities, he seems to remain cheerful, and that definitely rubs off on his students.
The minute a student walks into Mr. Swoboda’s class they know that they are bound to have a good hour. “He is funny,” said Madison Bartlett(11). It is those simple, funny little things that make a class so much better. Whether it is celebrating hump day or emphasizing a number like ‘14’ so loudly that no student could possibly miss it, Swoboda keep students’ attention. “It’s funny because I think he kind of sounds like the camel,” said Bartlett regarding the ‘Hump Day’ commercial that Swoboda shows to keep up the good spirit during the middle of the week. Math is important, but he also understands the environment in the room matters.
In general the way Mr. Swoboda teaches is the main reason for his and his students’ success. “He is full of energy; I don’t know how he does it. He makes math interesting, makes me want to learn it, and that is very hard to do.”