After being off campus for four years working in administration for San Juan Unified, Mr. Matt Strinden returned to his old position as a computer science teacher.

“I don’t know if I would’ve come back here if the position wasn’t the same one I had before,” Strinden said. “But I was very excited to be able to come back. I love to teach computer science, so it’s nice to be back.”

Strinden was working with teachers instead of students in his past job. He taught them how to improve their teaching while also seeing them use those techniques inside the classrooms. 

“I think that there are differences between [teaching teachers and students], but my calling in life has been to be a teacher,” Strinden said. “So, part of my reason why I decided to come back was that I missed working with students.” 

Strinden teaches all levels of computer science, including an Advanced Placement class. Students expressed opinions regarding the arrival of a new teacher for a high-level course.

“We were a little nervous, honestly, because we didn’t know how this new teacher would be,” Swikriti Narang, an AP Comp Sci student, said. “But we’re quite happy with it. I just feel like I learn better with him.”

Together, however, Strinden and his higher-level students have been able to collaborate and understand where they have been left off, as well as what they need to continue to learn about. 

“I’ve had to figure out what those kids have been taught, and so I can adjust what I’m teaching in those upper level classes, so I can make sure that we don’t have gaps in their learning or to make sure that they get all the content standards that we’re looking for,” Strinden said. 

Strinden has also been able to teach from the ground up with his Computer Science I students, starting with the basics like how a computer works and is made. 

“He’s just a really fun teacher. I mean, you can’t really change the study plan, right?”  Aryaan Swamy said. “But he’s … really engaging.”

Strinden’s return to campus has also meant a return to the culture on the campus. He said that beyond the walls of the classroom, the campus community made the decision to come back easier. As well as that, he has two daughters, a freshman and a senior, who are currently students. 

Strinden said, “In some ways, it feels like I never left. The classroom is very similar to when I was here, and just some changes in some of the curriculum and updating some things that I was doing before, it just feels like just coming back to my classroom which is exciting. Ultimately, just the culture here, it fits my personality very well. I feel like it’s a place that I want to teach and other people want to teach at. It’s a great school, great community, so it’s exciting to be back.”

by SARAH CHOI, HANNAH KLATT, MILA KLJAJIN, OGECHI NKADI, SEPHER MOHAMMADI, MAIRYN OSECHECK & LIV VERVOORT