March Teacher Feature: Mr. Kuechle
Photo submitted by Kuechle.
Evan Rosenau
Our March teacher feature is a versatile and well-travelled teacher: Mr. Kyle Kuechle. He attended the University of Wyoming for two years before transferring to the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, where he got a degree in mathematics. Mr. Kuechle has taught for four years, two in Gilbert, Arizona, and the last two being here at Hamilton. He has taught everything from Algebra to AP Stats. When he’s not finding standard deviations, he loves live music, going to the movies, his two cats, and weight lifting.
Read on to learn more about our March featured teacher:
What got you interested in teaching?
I initially declared a math major without knowing what to do with it—I just knew I liked math. Then, I started working as a tutor at my campus’s math center. That was my introduction to teaching. I remember someone gave me a thank you card at the end of the semester and in that moment I realized maybe I might be good at teaching, so I ran with it.
What would students be surprised to know about you?
I failed/withdrew from several classes in college and lived to tell the tale. It took me 5 and a half years to get through undergrad because of that (combined with my transferring schools). Honestly, it shouldn’t be super surprising. I would go on record to say it is extremely common to take longer than 4 years to graduate!
What song do you know all the lyrics to?
My go to karaoke song is “Pieces of Me” by Ashlee Simpson, but my all time favorite song is “US National Park” by The Drums. It seems a little lame to me now, but my first tattoo was based on that song (it is a campfire on my arm).
What superpower would you like to have?
Teleportation. Words cannot accurately describe how much I hate driving. The best way to get me off track during class is to mention something about walkable cities. I seriously considered going to school for urban planning.
If you won 100 million dollars what would you buy first?
Pay off my student loans and then buy a litter robot for my cats.
What skill would you like to master?
I would love to master making latte art. I am pretty decent now, but there is some room for improvement. I also love coffee in general and would love to try my hand at roasting.
What would your perfect room/ classroom look like?
The ideal class has 24 students and everyone is present every day. Then, there can be groups of 3, 4, 6, or 8 easily.
What book or movie would you recommend to your students?
One of my favorite movies is Frances Ha. I would recommend it to everyone, but specifically for students, it is about finding your way in the world when you don’t know what you want to do with your life.
What is the best advice you have received?
Advice that I tend to live by is that people are generally very self centered. Not in a negative way, but that is to say that they are not paying as much attention to you as you think they are. Thus, you should live your life without thinking about other people’s perceptions of you.
Are there more wheels or more doors in the world?
Wheels. Think of all the conveyor belts. Bicycles. Two door cars that still have four wheels. As I say this, I am sitting in a classroom in which there are two desk chairs with five wheels a piece, a podium with four wheels, and a Newline board with four wheels. I count four doors in my room. Not to be too much of a math teacher, but those are 2:9 odds against doors.
What do you wish you’d invented?
Whoever invented the Teachers Pay Teachers is rolling in money right now. A true mastermind.
