Teacher Spotlight: Mr. Foust

By Logan Anito

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I chose my chemistry teacher, Mr. Foust, for the teacher spotlight. From this interview, I have learned a lot about his daily work life and teaching background. After 7 years of working in business, he decided to start teaching.

My first question was, “What Inspired you to start teaching?” He started to explain how he didn’t want to work in the business field for 30 more years after already working for 7. He explained how he wanted to do something to make an impact and stated that many of his teachers over the years had made a difference in his life and that is what inspired him to get his teaching license. My next question was, “How long have you been teaching?” He said he is now in his 11th year of teaching. I then asked, “How do you think your students would describe you?” He responded “Definitely quirky and caring, I definitely have my own sense of humor that they’re either going to really like it or it’s going to be one of those things where it’s just cringy.”

After that series of questions, I asked “What is something that has greatly affected your life?” He explained that he has a very supportive family which includes his wife and his daughter. He even said that his wife was encouraging and supporting him as he was in the process of getting his teaching license. And his daughter whom he has been teaching since the first year she started school. As my last question, I asked, “What is something you would change about school if you could?” He then explained that he does not feel that there are enough teachers in education to do the things expected of teachers. He then said “So if I could change one thing, it would be recruiting the next generation of teachers. Because at this point that’s our biggest struggle for the future. There is a shortage of teachers and people going into the teaching profession. If we don’t start to make that change, when we have this generation of teachers retire there won’t be enough teachers for teaching.”