Colin Kantor

Many students who have been on campus for a while might have noticed new staff members walking the halls. Colin Kantor, 9th grade World Geography and 10th grade World History teacher, is one of those new to the staff. Wingspan sat down for an interview with him to gain insight on his experience and introduce him to the campus.

Wingspan: Where are you from?

Kantor: “I was actually born outside Washington D.C., but I grew up in Southlake. I spent most of my life in one place or the other.”

Wingspan: Where did you go to college?

Kantor: “I have my undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, and my master’s from TCU.”

Wingspan: When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?

Kantor: “I think I always knew it was part of my career path. I had really cool, fun history teachers when I was in high school, so I wanted to emulate what they did and be that influence on other kids’ lives. I didn’t plan to start teaching so young, but I really enjoy it so far.”

Wingspan: Do you have much experience teaching?

Kantor: “This is my third year. I spent the last two years teaching eighth-grade history.”

Wingspan: How were you feeling on your first day on the job?

Kantor: “The first day was a little bit nerve-wracking just because of everything going on, teaching all virtual. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with the high schoolers and trying to do it online. I actually had a little Zoom-bombing incident during one of my periods on the first day, so it was a little bit rough, but everyone was really nice and most of the kids were great (other than the ones who Zoom-bombed me), so it was fun.”

Wingspan: What aspects of the school drew you here?

Kantor: “I definitely wanted to move up to the high school level, it’s where my original passion for teaching came. I had heard really good things about the school, and about the people who work here, and I just wanted to be part of a great team.”

Wingspan: Was the transition from your previous job to your current job a difficult one? Why or why not?

Kantor: “There was a little bit of an adjustment period because I’m used to working with kids who are a little bit younger, but for the most part you [high schoolers] just want to be treated like adults. If I can emulate that and have a level of respect and appreciation for your time, I get that back, and it makes my life a lot easier.”

Wingspan: What are your goals for this school year?

Kantor: “Honestly, we’re still kind of in survival mode at this point, I’m just trying to keep one week ahead at a time. I’m teaching two brand new subjects for me, geography and history, so I want to be able to feel more comfortable with those subjects and be able to share not only knowledge but also some of my personal experiences and travel history with the kids. Really, I just want to make connections and make it real.”

Wingspan: If you could give a word of advice to your students, what would it be?

Kantor: “Be proactive. Especially with everything going on the way it is right now, it’s easy to forget that I have 120 students. I want to help everyone as much as I can, but unless I know that you need help, I can’t do a whole lot about it. It may just be through an e-mail or some other way to get in contact with me, but I think all teachers would agree that we want everyone to be proactive this year.”

Wingspan: Do you find your job fun? What do you like about it?

Kantor: “I love teaching. I especially love the non-teaching moments where kids say something funny in class or there’s a conversation that starts. Even just today we were having a debate in my class about the merits of McDonald’s vs. Whataburger. I love having those fun conversations and getting to know [my students] and them getting to know me too.”

Wingspan: What do you do in your free time?

Kantor: “I love to travel, although there’s not a whole lot of that going on right now. I like running, playing tennis, reading, watching Netflix, just having some chill downtime when I’m not teaching.”

Wingspan: What kind of student were you in high school?

Kantor: “I was the bookish nerd type. I wanted to get all straight A’s, took a lot of AP classes, and worked really hard. I understand why kids are motivated to work really hard because it does pay off when you get to college, I can attest to that.”

Wingspan: What is one thing you hope your students will take away from you this year?

Kantor: “I know social studies isn’t everyone’s favorite subject, but it is probably the most relevant to our daily life. The way the world is right now, everything that we can see around us either has to do with geography, history, or both. As long as they can take some examples from either one of my courses and see how it affects the world we live in, then I’ve done my job.”