Alex Hartz

Alex Hartz of Rockton has taught math for 15 years, all at Hononegah. A student nomination said, “Mr. Hartz creates an environment in his classroom where learning calculus is fun. Every time I’d heard people talking about Calculus, it was always in a negative manner that painted the subject as one that’s flat out terrible. In Mr. Hartz’s class, though, he would start every lesson by making the title of the lesson into something hilarious so that it wasn’t as daunting. My favorite was the lesson on “Continuity” that he changed to “Contimooity,” and featured an elongated cow. He also has creative ways to explain derivative rules that help us understand instead of just memorize. My brother, who is a college math tutor was helping a girl in Calculus 101 who was struggling to understand derivative rules so he used Mr. Hartz’s methods. Finally, after three tutors, she understood. Both my brother and I are very grateful to have been his students.” A Stanford University concluded “the regions of the brain responsible for logical, mathematical thought are overridden by the fear centers of the brain.” So he tries “to deactivate any fear or anxiety that may accompany a new lesson and alleviate math anxiety at the start of each lesson with a small joke like Contimooity. These jokes are often horrible stretches of the imagination, but the sense of fear dissipating is tangible.” Alex rarely talks students through concepts step by step. Rather, he uses questions targeted at students’ learning levels to draw out their thinking skills. He’s taught all levels of math students from those who previously failed or have IEPs, to motivated, high-achieving seniors. A retired teacher who was on the math content team with Alex wrote that he “teaches all levels of ability with the same passion and dedication.” She also wrote that she often drove home from meetings thinking, “that is the teacher I want to be!” Students who miss or struggle with lessons can watch them all on his YouTube channel. They have been watched by students and teachers throughout and even outside the U.S. A peer wrote that Alex “steps up to help everybody every day in every way that he can. It is how he lives.”