Now Introducing: Mr. Thomas from Building 10, Room 125 by Tyler Ferreira Alves Hill
Did you know that, recently, a Florida Law now requires high schooler to take a course in Personal finance? Personal finance is important for fairly understandable reasons: It teaches you how to manage your own funds, handle credit and debit cards, and operate loans. Although still new to the school, Mr. Ryan Thomas offered his financial experiences, knowledge, and assistance to students, as well as all the tools they need to succeed.
After finishing his education and pursuing a degree in Accounting, Mr. Thomas joined the military for a good amount of years before eventually landing in Mel High thanks to an open opportunity. “They had a need for personal finance since there was a new state direction from Governor DeSantis, and so we feel—or I felt like it would be a great fit for me… Personal finance touches me so deeply already; I have an accounting degree and I read a lot of boring books which I bring in with me sometimes.” said Mr. Thomas on the matter of becoming the new teacher for Personal Finance after previously being in Psychology last year.
While the subject matter may sound slightly boring, and perhaps even like a chore, Mr. Thomas brought in a level of sentimentality and comfortability with how he teaches. “My biggest thing is just to be themselves. I know that people need to get up and need to move sometimes for their own comfort. I feel if I bring a formality into the class, it's going to help bring out, not just personalities, but also just ideas.” said Mr. Thomas. This method allowed Mr. Thomas brings out more of a familiar and easy-to-settle-in environment, but it is also a way to not only educate his students, but to educate himself. “I want to be willing to take my own humble pie but also give as much information as possible; That’s what I want from my classes—I want freedom of expression for the most part.” said Mr. Thomas.
Being comfortable, especially in this environment, is important. Being able to settle in and easily do your work while having fun and feeling like it is something you want to engage is a wonderful thing. Having a teacher who encourages you to not only feel that but strive for better things, is similarly just as important. “If one person receives knowledge enough to where they go on and do something spectacular or they follow their dreams because of something we talked about, then my job has been a success.” Mr. Thomas said.
Caption:
Finally time for Financial Planning: Mr. Ryan Thomas works on his computer after a long day in his classroom 125, in building 10. During period 7, Mr. Thomas entered his planning period to prepare for tomorrow and the rest of the week on how he’ll educate his students on personal finance. “The way I teach isn’t that ‘this is the way to go,’ it's that I want to be questioned in what I’m doing—I want the students to question me, I want them to do their own research.” said Mr. Thomas when it comes to his methods of teaching. Photo by Tyler Ferreira Alves Hill.