New chemist on campus

Some of us may believe that teachers are just regular adults who show up at school every day to teach us. While our teachers cannot be superheroes, they come very close to it by showing a lot of enthusiasm for the classes they teach and pushing for every student to succeed.

That’s what new CVHS teacher Kyle Thompson does when teaching biology and chemistry. What makes him different from other science teachers? Well, for starters, he used to be a chemist working in a lab, studying quality control chemicals, testing cancer drugs, and looking for a drug to cure mad cow disease. He also took chemistry his senior year and although he had a bad teacher, Thompson managed to comprehend what he was learning and decided that it was something he was interested in.

As a result of all his experience and exposure to different mediums in the science field, Thompson is able to express his lessons in ways to appeal to his students.

“Mr. Thompson is probably one of the best science teachers I have ever had,” said junior DeNia Nelson who has him for chemistry. “He is very helpful – he actually takes the time to sit with you and explain what you don’t understand or what you might have questions on. Also, he is very relatable for a teacher,” she said.
Between writing lesson plans, grading projects and tests, and attending meetings, teachers sometimes find it hard to find extra time to help students. But Thompson always has his doors open to provide more help.

“So far, one of the best things he has taught us is mole calculations. I don’t think any other teacher would have taken the time to break down the problems step by step for me,” said Nelson.

Thompson uses real life examples for his students to relate to in order to explain his lessons. For instance, he clarifies how electricity powers our cell phones through the art of science. He hopes that by doing so, those interested in science will pursue a career in it.

Thompson has been teaching for five years now, but finds being a teacher more difficult than being a chemist. Although he gets more vacation days and hours, he finds this job to be a little more challenging than working in labs. He is faced with new students, different colleagues, and a completely different working environment, which at times can be a little disconcerting.

“Those jobs feel like less work,” he said about working in the lab.

But with the exception of an occasional immature student, Thompson enjoys working here and being able to talk about his previous job. He especially likes taking the opportunity to inform the juniors and seniors about different careers involving science.

When asked whether he likes biology or chemistry more, he admitted he was split between the two subjects.

“Personally, I find biology more interesting because you learn about the human body, but I enjoy teaching chemistry to students more,” said Thompson.