Sparta — After more than three decades in education, Paul Groh still lives for those moments of recognition, when lightbulbs seem to flicker on in the heads of students as complicated concepts start to click.
Groh teaches Science Olympiad, Physical Science and Honors Physics at Sparta High School, where he’s worked for 30 years.
He’s always been a tinkerer: hands-on, mechanical and solution-oriented. So he’s well-suited to teaching science-related subjects that allow him to revel in those impulses.
“I love the problem-solving aspect of it,” Groh said, identifying what he believes is one of the most valuable things he can impart to students. “If I can teach them how to problem solve, then they can do anything.”
SNN sat down with Groh to learn about his love of teaching, the thrill of ‘aha’ moments and the value of making connections.
Why do you teach? “I love to interact with the kids and have them get to that point where they have the ‘aha’ moment, or the ‘lightbulb moment,’ as we call it: when they make a connection that you didn’t specifically tell them. It’s awesome.”
What is your biggest motivator that keeps you excited about teaching? “It’s the kids. It’s the ‘aha’ moment. And it’s never the same,” Groh said, noting that working with students adds an element of variety, excitement and unpredictability to his life.
“I love it,” he said. “I love to get up and come to work and play with the kids. When they’re doing fun stuff, it’s fun for me; then I’m doing fun stuff. And we just find a way to learn.”
Why science? What’s the most interesting thing about it? “Science speaks to me because I’m inquisitive, and I’ve always wanted to know how things work. I’ve been mechanical and hands-on my whole life.”
Groh said there’s a level of satisfaction and fulfillment that comes with knowing how things work that he strives to pass on to his students.
“I want to show them that anything’s possible. We can solve any problem. We just have to learn how to problem solve,” he said.
‘There’s so much of the teaching profession that’s passion for what you do — loving being here and loving the kids.’
— Sparta High School teacher Paul Groh
What are some of the biggest challenges in your role and how do you strive to meet them? “Kids who aren’t motivated. If they don’t see a reason to be here, it’s hard. … So if they’re not interested in being here, my goal is to show them something — some connection to the real world about what we’re doing. Let’s connect what I’m talking about to something they see. And then let’s do something with that.”
What’s the most amazing thing about teaching high-school students? “When they see a connection to something they’re doing outside of school.”
It’s rewarding, Groh said, to see the recognition on students’ faces when they realize that physics is all around them, inextricable from many of their hobbies and interests outside of academics.
“I have a lot of baseball people in my class, and if we’re talking about the Magnus effect — that’s the spinning when you throw a curveball — a lot of them know what to do and how to throw it, but they don’t know why,” he said. “Or soccer, when you’re kicking a corner kick for your team, you can get that ball to spin and curve in. I’m like, ‘There’s a way to do that,’ and they know how, they just don’t know there’s physics there.”
What would you say to someone considering teaching as a profession? “Number one, keep it fun. If the kids are having fun, then you’re having fun. That’s super hard to do sometimes because you’ve got to do some of the arduous stuff, but if the kids can see a connection, that’s your key — you’ve got them.
“If you capture their heart, you capture their mind. Get them to realize that you’re a human and you just want to impart some knowledge to them. Or teach them how to learn, because we’re in an information age. They don’t need the information as much as they need to be able to process the information.”
What is something your students have shown or taught you? “To just keep trying. And curiosity — once you find the spark of something you’re interested in. When I see them and they’re curious about something, that inspires me.”
Anything else? “There’s so much of the teaching profession that’s passion for what you do — loving being here and loving the kids. And when we see people who don’t have that, it’s too bad, because you’re ruining it for everyone else.”
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