Forever a teacher

As I entered the main space of NuVu Studios, a school specializing in innovation and project-based learning, I immediately noticed three things. The first is the students. They are working in groups of two, working productively and calmly. No disturbances, no loud noises or voices. The second thing my eyes immediately fall on is the space itself. It is neat, clean and well lit with rows of chairs and tables, filling the space in a grid pattern. The final thing I notice is Andrew Todd Marcus. He is helping a student who is hunched over at their computer, working on a 3d model. Andrew is simply asking them questions as the student scrolls through the design software.

 Andrew is a tall man, with black hair and a black and grey beard. He loves to joke with his students. Andrew seems to always be in a jolly mood. He wears practical pants and solid-colored t-shirts. As I approached Andrew in the morning asking for an interview, he immediately sets aside a time to talk.

In the interview, Andrew reflected about his on and off teaching career. He worked at a school when he was in his twenties. He then worked more as a carpenter, and then he went to architecture school and worked as a freelance photographer for a while, but he was always inclined to teach.

He started working full time at NuVu Innovation School eight years ago and he has become central to the NuVu experience for students and coaches alike. One reason for this is because he tries to connect with his students on such a deep level.

“There have been many students whose relationships with me have developed into friendships, and even after seven years we still talk, you know?”

Andrew asks a student their name and pronouns. The student answers, and Andrew chats with them for a short while. He then moves on to the next student and asks them questions about themself, based on what he heard them talking about with their friends, just moments before. He then proceeds to ask every student individually, going around the room, and learning more.

Something that makes Andrew such an effective teacher is his unique teaching style. As Andrew is teaching, he makes jokes and tells interesting stories related to the topic to keep his students attentive. He seems to relate to his students, and build lasting connections while still teaching the studio effectively.

One of the ways Andrew achieves such a perfect balance is hidden in the way he treats his students. From what I observed, he doesn’t treat his students any differently than a co-worker. He treats them with the respect that the conventional schooling systems are sorely lacking.

“I didn’t grow up and know I wanted to be a teacher. I always wanted to go back to being a teacher partially because I think our education sucks and I want to fix it, but mostly because I remember how transformative it was to connect with an adult who treated me like a person and not just like somebody that they needed to deal with.”

When Andrew is not focused on his students, he’s busy preparing for the next steps in the studios. He wants to be prepared. Over the course of the two days, I observed him preparing his next lessons whenever he wasn’t teaching. He prepared the next lesson during the student’s work time, he prepares it during his work time, and he prepares with other coaches for an upcoming assignment for the students.

As I watched Andrew teaching, I became very interested in the story that was unfolding. Andrew observes his students, waiting for a question to be asked. As I glance over at Andrew’s screen, the dim glow of schedules and plans fills my eyes. Andrew works tirelessly to make sure his students have a productive working day tomorrow. The students don’t seem to mind his presence at the desk.

Throughout hours of students nearly burning themselves with hot glue guns and asking where they can find M4 screw, he is consistently calm, collected, and helpful. Andrew walks over to help another student with a computer issue. As Andrew looks at the computer screen, he kneels beside the student.

 “What’s wrong?”

He asks them questions about what they know is happening on the computer, to help them understand the problem. He finishes and begins to walk around the studio, surveying the environment and student’s projects, looking for something to teach, or a question to answer.

“How does this work?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Who will your project impact?”

“Why is your idea important to the world?”