Written By: Chelsea Pacheco
Photos by: Chelsea Pacheco
Coming into The Morgan School as a freshman can be very intimidating. The freshmen do not know where many of their classes are. They are not familiar with the teachers, and they may be afraid of the upperclassmen.
When I entered Morgan, the one teacher I knew was my advisory teacher. I was very lucky to have Mathematics teacher Mr. Alan Samet as my advisor. Mr. Samet has taught at Morgan for 37 years. He plans “to try to pull out a few more years” before retiring. Since he dedicates his whole life to his students, he gains respect not only from the students, but also from the teachers.
Many students who had Mr. Samet as a teacher or who talk to Mr. Samet have nothing but positive things to say about him. Senior Arielle Passante revealed, “What I like most about Mr. Samet is how he is always willing to help students. He is very understanding that high-schoolers do not go home and focus on school. They have work, sports, or other events that get in their way. Whenever I have a problem regarding school or life issues, he is always ready and willing to help. When I am walking down the hall, and I don’t have a smile on my face, he makes sure that I am okay. He will always give honest opinions and provide the best advice he can possibly give.”
Another student that is very fond of Mr. Samet is Senior Maina Carey. Maina had Mr. Samet for Honors Algebra 2. “I find Mr. Samet very funny. He keeps his class ‘alive’ by using his humor. His teaching also made me into the math student I am today. Also, I can go to him for pretty much anything. I know that he will not judge my questions and what I am thinking, but I know that he will give me an honest answer that will help me in the future and even in the present. He will also tell me what he thinks is best for me, even if I do not approve. He will still tell me.”
Not only do the students love Mr. Samet, his colleagues adore him as well. Mathematics teacher Mr. Michael Underwood is a very good friend of Mr. Samet. When Mr. Underwood is stuck on a math problem that he is teaching his students, he walks across the hall to ask Mr. Samet. Mr. Underwood enthusiastically described Samet: “Howdy! Mr. Samet is one of my favorite colleagues I work with. He is the one I go to for help when I am unsure of how to solve a problem, need to figure out something cool on the calculator, or want to prove my students wrong. He is always willing to help me and pretty much anyone who comes his way.”
This is not the first time Mr. Samet has been in the Morgan Pawprint. Back in 2013, Mikhela Hull and Kayla Maloney wrote about Mr. Samet’s return to the Morgan School. The students realized how much they appreciated him as their teacher. They greeted him as soon as he walked through the door.