Mr. Buggy is a social studies teacher at HAHS. He has been teaching for 18 years. He got into teaching because, “I had some really, really good teachers in high school. I’m also a history nerd and they helped me get into that.” He grew up listening to his grandfather’s stories about World War 2, and that helped to pique his interest in wars and battles. “It led to me reading and learning more about wars, especially Gettysburg being here in PA. After one event, it just snowballed and progressed throughout my life,” he included. Mr. Buggy said his favorite thing about teaching is that he gets paid to do a job he loves. “I would’ve learned to learn all of the same stuff in high school, and now I get to teach others about it as well, all on my own.”
Mr. Buggy enjoys the high school and the environment he works in. “I love my department, the social studies teachers, and all of the faculty for that matter. We all think similarly and come up with these crazy fun ideas.”
Mr. Buggy is well known with all of his students, and he loves talking to them all and getting to help them throughout their high school years.
He said that a favorite moment throughout his 18 years of teaching will always be, “Kids that come in and struggle, whether that be academically or have a bad family life, and yet you see them come out in the end with a diploma. They have their life right and come out of highschool on top as adults.” He loves to help his students succeed and see them on the path they should be.
Mr. Buggy says that he loves all 18 years of being a teacher. If he could go back to a time, he said, “Probably a time period where I had hair. But seriously, each year brings something new and I just keep learning. If I could take my brain from now and put it back into my old self, I definitely would, as I thought I knew everything back then.”
Mr. Buggy said that his teaching style is definitely laid back, which I can agree with. “I understand it’s difficult to pay attention and listen sometimes, and that not everything might not be fun, but as a teacher, I try to connect those dots as to why it’s important and why it’s also fun.” He does a very good job of making assignments fun for his students, all the while making sure they still learn. As for his grading style, he says he is a little bit hardcore and that it may go back to his years of coaching. He says he is always open to giving leeway for certain things if his students are still trying to produce their work and try their best. “But if you give effort, put time in, and ask questions, I would gladly be there to help. That goes back to seeing students succeed, and I like to help those students come out on top that are struggling with my class.”
Sophomore Alaena Cox said that she thought that Mr. Buggy was a good teacher. “I like him as a teacher and it’s an easy class.” Another sophomore, Sheila Kern, said, “I love Mr. Buggy as a teacher. I like the freedom he gives us in class and he makes learning more enjoyable and fun.”
