The start of the 2024-2025 school year at Del Val brought six new staff members, including Sean Johnson, an alumnus, and now a physics and astronomy teacher.
Johnson has always had a passion for science.
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been a huge fan of sci-fi movies,” Johnson said. “I remember there were times I would stay home from school watching the Science Channel and watching specials they had. It’s always been a nice hobby of mine to try and take things apart and see how they work. So to me, science was just the method behind it.”
Not only does Johnson have a passion for science, but he also loves teaching his students about the subject.
“What I love about teaching science the most is the ways that we can go about taking these complex ideas and simplifying them down to a real-world example that students can get involved with,” said Johnson. “We’re able to take complex mathematics and show it like, ‘Hey, here’s a real-world scenario and you could do it…’ When students have that ‘clicking’ moment, it’s the best thing for me as a teacher.”
Johnson teaches Explorations of Science, Astronomy and Physics. He isn’t just a teacher at Del Val, Johnson is also an alumnus.
”When I was a student here, Del Val was much the same,” said Johnson. “I had come from a more urban-esque area. So coming out here when I was in sixth grade, and eventually coming to Del Val, was a shock for me. I was told high school was going to be classes of 30-plus students. Then in most of my classes it would be rare to break 20. But the teachers were always there to help, and I always felt like I had a home.”
During his time at Del Val, Johnson was part of the, now-defunct, Debate Club. They debated about a broad range of topics.
“There were things that were very serious, such as current political debates at the time,” Johnson said. “I do know we would also debate things that would be more fun, like werewolves and vampires… One that I will never forget about is cake versus pie. We expected it to be a funny, end-of-the-meeting debate, but that ended up being the most serious debate we ever had…”
The most bizarre part of coming back for Johnson has been working with his former teachers.
”That’s the weird part,” said Johnson. “I have to get used to it in my mind that they’re now my coworkers and not my teachers. I can talk to them not as someone who’s like, ‘Oh, is this the right answer?’ Now it’s, ‘Ok, this is what we’re doing, this is what the plan is.’ The newness I don’t think will ever wear off for me, but it’s a cool feeling.”
Johnson is excited to return to his alma mater and appreciates what’s to come.
“I’m looking forward to finally having a class of my own,” Johnson said. “New class, new students, new year. Let’s see what happens.”
