Students: "GoOOOO Polazzo!"
Hi, my name is Matt Polazzo. I, uh, I teach at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, and, uh, I teach, uh, AP U.S. Government in the fall. I teach AP Comparative Government in the spring, and I teach an elective on Western political thought.
What made you choose teaching as a career?
Uh, I thought I was just going to do it for two years, uh, and I thought I might go to law school, but, y'know, uh, if any--if you know any teachers they'll tell you that there's something really intoxicating about standing up there in front of a class and seeing that moment when, uh, when they get something, and a light kind of goes on behind their eyes, and it's just really indescribable feeling, and now I just feel incredibly lucky that, y'know, I get paid a salary to, uh, talk about, y'know, fascinating issues that I really am, uh, excited about.
How did your students react when they found out you made it on Jeopardy!?
Oh, they were super excited. They all applauded, they all cheered, they all told me I had to win or, uh, or bad things would happen, [chuckles] so, uh... But they were really--they were really excited, uh, and it was really--they were really great about supporting me.
Any plans for your winnings?
My wife and I just bought a new house and we have two kids with a third on the way, so it's all just going to go into, like, the general fund now. Maybe I'll, uh, maybe I'll be able to buy myself, y'know, some kind of iPad or something like that.
Tune in! You might learn a thing or two! |
