Once you enter Stephen Lander’s classroom, you can feel the nice and crisp environment that is created throughout the room. There are chairs and desks grouped around the room. Posters from movies and video games are hung up on the walls. The vibe lets his students see personal aspects of his life, in turn improving their learning from the environment.

“Lander would always give 100% in his teaching,” Paul Horn, 11, said. “He also loves science fiction, mostly Star Wars.” 

Lander is a teacher for English I and English II. He’s been teaching at the school for four years and has a notable reputation. Many of his students remark that they have enjoyed the class environment.

“I try to make it chill and let the students enjoy their time in my class,” Lander said.  

According to some of his students, Lander is one of the most compelling teachers and is very unique compared to other teachers. He started teaching through a high school bet that he made with some of his high school friends. Yet, even through some struggles that teaching may give you, he still enjoys teaching.

“My favorite part about teaching is experiencing fresh new perspectives during this job,” Lander said. 

One of the most notable things about Lander’s personality is his awkward yet funny jokes. He often entertains the class with jokes about his personality – calling himself aloof and esoteric. 

He takes pride in himself and does not care about what others think. The most important aspect of his teaching is collaboration. He lets his students work together to finish assignments and classwork to get the best possible grade in his class. His class could be described as “easy” but that’s how he likes it. He keeps it similar to other teachers and collaborates with them to let the students succeed. 

“I like to keep it simple, and build off of what other teachers do,” said Lander. “I collaborate with them, and do my work well.”

During Lander’s four years stint at this school, his name has become very prominent. His personality is known by many and he tries to make his class new and interesting. Simplicity is key in his teaching, seen by example in his classroom through the easiness the students feel learning.