“My dream was to one day return to Daphne High School and work with the band and drum line and teach math all day,” shared Joshua Harper. “I am very fortunate to be living the dream.”
Mr. Harper graduated from Daphne High in 1999 and considers himself blessed to be teaching at his alma mater. After graduating with his Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Alabama, he jumped into teaching high school math and has been teaching for over two decades.
“It sounds cheesy, but I wanted to make a difference in the world,” Mr. Harper explained. “I had some great math teachers in high school who made an impact on me, and I knew I wanted to make that same impact on others. I enjoy working with teenagers and helping them learn — especially not be so afraid of mathematics.”
In the classroom, students are welcomed each day by an objective and daily agenda in the same spot on the whiteboard. Mr. Harper believes that a consistent schedule and routine for his students contribute to their success.
“On a typical day, I will be writing and working out examples on a piece of paper and projecting them onto the Promethean Board via a document camera. Students are given a set amount of time to work out an example and will “marker board” the answer using expo markers and socks for the erasers. This is an old trick I learned early on in my career,” Mr. Harper. “So instead of students raising their hands and me calling on just one student to answer out loud, I allow all students to participate in every example via the marker board system. With this method, kids are more likely to take risks and attempt to answer something or work out a problem they otherwise would not.”
Along with class-wide problem-solving, Mr. Harper also likes to include other fun methods of teaching to break up the monotony. You may catch his classes using paper airplanes and bouncy balls for data collection.
When it comes to new teachers entering the classroom, Mr. Harper encourages them to strive for consistency. He believes that schedules and organization lead to overall student success.
“Be yourself, but steal stuff from other teachers. Not like pencils and pens, but ideas,” Mr. Harper proceeded with.
“Incorporate technology where you can, but do not become overdependent on it.”
Joshua Harper married his high school sweetheart, Erica. They were both in the Daphne High School band together. They have one daughter, Annalee Grace (9). They love going to the beach, pool and watching movies. They also like to travel together to theme parks like Universal, Islands of Adventure, and Dollywood.
