Tussing is a second-year math teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School who has much to say about his experiences.
Photo by Mia Nogueira
Nick Tussing became the new math teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School when budget cuts made him leave Douglas County High School two years ago, but he has already created some memories and says he has fallen in love with the school.
Before Tussing came to the home of the Spartans, he was teaching at Douglas County High School. However, he isn’t disappointed with his move and plans on staying here for a while. Tussing says he loves the TJ community and likes the population because it is so diverse. “The kids are all from different backgrounds so they bring those to class. When all of the backgrounds come together, it leads to great discussions,” he said.
The life-long stomping grounds for this teacher is none other than Colorado. “I grew up here, actually in Aurora to be more precise.” When he was little, Tussing says he loved math but that soon changed when he entered the third grade, when he says he fell out of love with the subject while learning pre-algebra. “I took pre-algebra for five years so no, I didn’t really like it,” Tussing said with a slightly guilty giggle. “In third grade I was put into the class and was put back into the class every year up to the seventh grade. Even when I was already in the class they put me in it again.” After going through all four years at Eagle Crest High School, he continued on to college at North Eastern University and The University of Colorado. Now he is happily married with one daughter.
Tussing can now be found in the math hallway in room 120. The courses taught in this classroom are Probability and Statistics, Geometry X, and Geometry and Algebra Resources. The probability and statistics class is only provided for the seniors at TJ; however students of any grade can enroll in the geometry courses.
If Tussing was frustrated with math as a youth, why does he teach it now? “I believe math is very important to the job field and I feel it is important for students to know how it is used in real life,” he said. “I realized I wanted to be a teacher when I was in college. I was working at a Neuroscience Lab at the University Hospital. Then I realized that I didn’t want to do that anymore so I went with teaching. I feel like I made the right job choice because I like teaching. I like to teach because I like high school students,” Tussing said.
Not only does this teacher enjoy preparing math students for the future, he also gives the Chess Club a place to play. During lunch, the Chess Club at Thomas Jefferson High School meets in Tussing’s classroom to play the challenging game. Tussing has only been here for one year, but has taken on the club. The old chess advisor wasn’t able to carry on with the chess team, leaving them with no sponsor. “Mr. Lessard asked me, and I like to play chess, so I thought why not? So I became the chess club supervisor,” said Tussing while in the middle of a chess game.
Tussing feels he has blended into the TJ community and the students have welcomed him with open arms. The students that have had his class and are in his class approve of the new teacher. One student who took geometry last year commented on his teaching, “You know I really enjoyed that class; he was a very helpful teacher,” said previous student Ali Holcomb.
So far, Tussing has bonded with his students and has created many memories. “My fondest memory at Thomas Jefferson High School has to be seeing the seniors graduate,” the math teacher said. He plans on creating many more memories and staying as long as he can.
When asked how long he planned on staying at TJ, Tussing responded,” How long do you plan on staying here?” As all his students know, he loves to joke around and has a sense of humor that always comes out during class.
