This fall KO is excited to welcome a new addition to the math team, Upper School teacher Michael Greenwald.
Mr. Greenwald attended Wesleyan University for his undergraduate degree, where he studied in the College of Social Studies which covered philosophy, government, history, and economics. “I did a minor in math and computer science, and that eventually brought me to teaching math,” he said. As he is currently teaching, he is also getting his master’s in English, with an academic interest in the liberal arts.
For the past six years, Mr. Greenwald taught math at Westminster School along with one year of undergraduate teaching at Wesleyan.
Mr. Greenwald discovered his passion for teaching through being a camp counselor. “I was a camp counselor for about seven years from high school through college, and that was what brought me into teaching at boarding schools because I liked the residential component,” he said. After realizing he wanted a break from boarding school life, he came to KO and couldn’t be happier with his decision!
Mr. Greenwald expressed his gratitude for the sense of community he has already felt at KO. “I like the way that KO seems to have a community that gives a lot of the benefits of a boarding school, along with all the benefits of a day school,” he said when reflecting on his decision to come to KO. “I think that you guys are striking the balance really nicely.” Another factor about KO that he really likes is the intentional time set aside throughout the day when everyone is free.
In his first few days at KO, Mr. Greenwald has certainly found some bumps along the way. Whether it be his key card not working, or forgetting to take attendance, he has still found the positives in everything and is finding himself having a great time.
Something that Mr. Greenwald is looking forward to is being able to coach boys JV basketball this year. In addition to basketball, Mr. Greenwald is very passionate about ultimate frisbee. “I was an ultimate frisbee player at Wesleyan,” he said. “I started up a program at Westminster, and Mr. Balabuch and I are currently working on getting that going here!”
Some fun facts that Mr. Greenwald wants his students to know are that he was a Toys R Us kid and went on the Oprah Winfrey Show for that when he was six. Along with that, Mr. Greenwald has run about a dozen marathons. He also lived in Nepal for about 18 months. “It started off as a study abroad program, and turned into a research grant,” he said. When he is not teaching, you can also catch Mr. Greenwald rooting for the Mets and Giants along with going to many music festivals!
Along with taking away a strong understanding of math, Mr. Greenwald hopes his students get much more from his class. “I hope that my students take away the ability to make mistakes, correct them, and be okay with having made them in the first place,” he explained.
Mr. Greenwald is looking forward to a great year with his students, athletes, and advisees. We look forward to seeing all that he brings to campus!
