New teacher faces have been popping up around the building, one of them being new math teacher Caleb Stoddard. The 22-year-old graduated from Truman State University, where his math journey started.
This is Stoddard’s first ever year teaching, however, he did student teaching and observation at Kirksville High School while still in college. Stoddard has always had a passion for math and teaching.
“I liked math a lot because it’s not right or wrong, it doesn’t have gray areas, and I liked how that worked,” Stoddard said. “The other thing about math is that I liked that no one was doing it, so I thought well, I’m good at it so why don’t I take a stab at it.”
While in college, Stoddard was trying to figure out where to go to teach. His college adviser gave him the idea of coming to Liberty.
“I chose to come teach at Liberty because my adviser in college actually recommended it,” Stoddard said. “He said he had a student here, Ms. Allensworth was a student at Truman and he said Liberty was a great school.”
Stoddard’s students have observed how much passion and excitement he has had this year. From his Algebra I classes to his math in trades class, and every class in between, his students are very excited to start their year with a new teacher. Two weeks into school, Jack Myers (10) already noticed a difference between Stoddard and some of the other math teachers.
“I really like his teaching style, definitely a lot easier than most of the teachers, like in my past they haven’t been able to help me a lot, but he’s really nice about it,” Myers said.
Another one of Stoddard’s students, Lewis Bacon (12), thinks very highly of his class environment so far, as well as his teaching style.
“With his class, I think math is a lot more enjoyable and easier to understand,” Bacon said.
Even though Stoddard is a new teacher, he is not being left out by the other teachers.
“Everyone is kind and very welcoming with open arms, especially the math department,” Stoddard said. “They’ve been very open with me and let me come talk to them if I need to, and overall they have all been very nice.”
So far this year it’s safe to say that Stoddard is well liked all around by the students and teachers. Within the first two weeks of his teaching career, Stoddard has gained much support from students, teachers, and administrators around the building, and plans to continue working here for many years to come.
