As students walk into Tomer Gil’s classroom, they enter a minimalistic and neatly kept environment. It is in this atmosphere that they follow along as Gil guides them through the process of structuring geometry proofs. In doing so, he applies old-school techniques to his lessons while incorporating more technologically advanced ones in an effort to prepare his students for the End of Course exam.

Gil is a new geometry teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Gil attended SUNY New Paltz University, located in New York and majored in engineering. Being an engineering major led him to his first job as an electrical engineer, which he did for approximately six years. However, Gil made the decision to switch careers and became a teacher.

Gil originally taught at the Blake School in Plantation Florida, a private school for students in pre-k through eighth grade. He taught math and science to middle school students before coming to MSD. Since The Blake School did not have access to newer technology, Gil was unable to incorporate it into his teaching methods there. One specific aspect of teaching at MSD that he is looking forward to is using the various technologies he now has access to, like promethean boards and laptops.

His favorite part of instructing is the way it makes him feel. As this is his third year of teaching, Gil is still learning how to effectively educate his students and looks forward to continuing to evolve as a teacher. After all, Gil has found that the knowledge and experience he continues to gain every day is what allows him to have such a large impact on students’ lives.

“I feel like I’m making a difference here,” Gil said.

Something that makes Gil stand out as a teacher is his background. Being an engineer for several years is not an easy job. However, his success in the field showed schools that he was able to think analytically, a vital skill in the field of mathematics.

Prior to 2023, Gil had never taught a subject with an EOC exam. With this year being highly experimental, Gil is slowly finding out what works for him and looks forward to seeing his and his students’ hard work reflected in their exam scores this year.

“I just kind of use my intuition and it seems to have been working for me pretty well so far,” Gil said.

Since Gil has a degree in engineering rather than education, he has often found that his lessons are “by the books,” or referring to the geometry textbook for guidance. Still, he understands that students each learn and absorb information differently, a fact that has prompted him to use different forms of media in his instruction, like worksheets and online sites.

MSD stood out as most attractive to him amongst his options of teaching institutions. His reasons for choosing MSD include the staff and the nice area surrounding the school, which perfectly fit the criteria of what he was looking for. He also felt that the school had a welcoming environment in which he was immediately accepted by students and staff.

“I picked this school over the others because it seemed overall more welcoming.” Gil said.

His general impression of MSD has been highly pleasing, finding teaching here enjoyable thus far. Therefore, Gil plans on continuing to instruct here for what he hopes will be years to come in order to truly make a difference.

“I definitely plan on sticking around here for a bit,” Gil said. “It’s been nice, the kids are mostly friendly.”

As a new teacher, Gil is determined to guide his students to success and help them achieve their dreams. His primary goal in order to succeed as an educator is simply to be the best possible teacher and the role model students look up to.