Eric Minner joined the Charyl Stockwell Preparatory Academy staff team in April of this year. He started attending our virtual zoom classes and soon took over on teaching Integrated I, Integrated II, and Pre-Algebra. Minner has since started teaching the in-person math classes this year, “the late spring and summer were perhaps the warm-up” he says. I had a chance to sit down and talk with him about his journey to CSPA.

What led you to become a teacher?

It is the only job I am not very, very bad at.  My students seem to enjoy class, and I certainly enjoy teaching them.

What are you looking forward to this school year? What do you enjoy about teaching in this district?

I am looking forward to more fun in advisory, organizing a board game, or card game party, (as long as everyone’s grades are up to par!), and helping everyone reach their goals for the year. I could go on and on about everything I like here, but it really comes down to two things:  I like all the students I teach, and I like the whole staff.  It is a joy to be here. 

What are some tips or tricks on how to pass your class? 

Pay a reasonable amount of attention and truly grasp the core concepts by taking notes in your own way, and the class will go swimmingly for you.

Please share an interesting personal experience about you or something you have witnessed.

Before my teaching career, my degree was in Biomedical Engineering.  During my time at graduate school up at Michigan Tech, I learned a great deal about the spine, the brain, and injuries and diseases of the central nervous system.

Flash forward a few years later– I had a job as a Lab Manager at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, in a neurosurgery research lab.   Most of my duties were related to ordering supplies for the lab, training newcomers, etc, but I also had my own experiments to run to help the lab get data.

I learned from my boss (who was a research scientist and a medical doctor) how to gently put a rat to sleep under anesthesia (without accidentally killing them from too much sleepy gas), and to make a long story short I have used power tools (like a circular saw, but much smaller) to open up the cranium and implant a device that would take measurements of the rat’s brain activity.  Afterward, I sewed up the injuries with some sutures, and I was done for the day!

It’s clear after meeting with Mr. Minner that if you have any questions or concerns for any of his classes that you shouldn’t hesitate to ask them. In fact, he said, “Email me anytime, I’m pretty decent about getting back the same day”. During this time of working and learning from home, most of us have to learn to speak up in classes so we don’t get left behind.

You can contact Mr. Minner through his school email, [email protected].