Teacher Spotlight: Mr. Carnahan

By VCS Evagelina Campbell

Mr. Carnahan has been a teacher at VCS for two years. He teaches several high school math courses. He is also the Assistant Director for the VCS High School Musical. We asked him a few questions about his experience teaching here at VCS, and here’s how he responded:

Q: What was the main inspiration for you in becoming a teacher?

A: I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in kindergarten. I love teaching and have always wanted to teach. 

Q: What is your favorite thing about the subject you teach?

A: I like that math is full of processes, and there are right and wrong answers. It makes it easy to follow and learn. 

Q: What’s one unit or aspect of math that you find difficult to teach?

A: Teaching matrices is always a difficult unit. It is so different from everything else, and the methods for solving can be long and tedious. 

Q: What do you think is the most unusual method when it comes to solving math problems?

A: It might not be the most unusual, but using algebra tiles is probably one of the more unique methods I’ve used this year to teach a concept. High school students don’t often get hands-on methods in math, so I was excited when we got to use them. 

Q: What impact do you hope to have on the seniors you teach this year?

A: I want to challenge them to work through the hard things instead of trying to avoid them. Building resiliency by working through hard things is one of the most valuable skills a person can have. 

Q: What do you love about VCS?

A: I love the Christ-centered atmosphere. 

Q: You teach a couple of different math courses. Which one do you think is the hardest to teach?

A: I think Algebra 2 is the hardest. It is a pre-college level course, and there is a lot of difficult content that students have never seen before. 

Q: How do you help students combat the idea that they are just “not good at math”?

A: I try to build their confidence in the little things so that when the bigger things come, they feel more successful. I always try to find something they have done right in a problem, even if they got it wrong so that they see that it is possible to do well. 

Q: Is there any advice you would like to give the students?

A: You always have to try your hardest, even if you think you can’t do something. Avoiding hard things usually makes things more difficult. Working through hard things teaches you a lot and helps you in the long run. 

Q: How has teaching here at VCS impacted you?

A: I have been able to try new methods of teaching and have been challenged to think outside the box for my teaching strategies. 

Q: If you had to pick what would be your favorite memory from teaching here at VCS?

A: Last year, when my classes did a March Madness contest as a part of our lessons, it was a lot of fun watching students compete and have fun in math class. 

Q: What class do you most enjoy teaching?

A: I really enjoy teaching calculus. The material is challenging, and the students enjoy rising to the challenge. 

Q: Are there any extracurricular activities you encourage students to participate in?

A:  The musical! Coming together as a cast to put together a show is always so much fun. Every cast is unique, and there is a bond you have with the cast that is different for every show.