Mr. Green, who is currently in his 28th year at Beth Tfiloh, not only teaches 10th, 11th, and 12th grade English, but also serves as the 10th grade advisor. Throughout the duration of his time at Beth Tfiloh, Mr. Green has appreciated all of his students, declaring they “are incredibly kind and polite.” Additionally, Mr. Green enjoys interacting with his fellow faculty members knowing that “the teachers at BT also support each other.” 

   Mr. Green received his master’s degree in English at The Ohio State University. After originally aspiring to become a college professor, Mr. Green changed his mind and decided to become an English teacher. Mr. Green elaborates, “As a graduate student, I taught freshman college English, and I enjoyed it so much…[that I] decided…to focus on being a classroom teacher.” Wanting to work at a Jewish day school, he sent his resume out, and soon after he finished graduate school, Beth Tfiloh asked him to teach a model lesson.  

   Outside of school, Mr. Green’s favorite activities are reading, walking his dog, walking with his wife, watching his favorite baseball team, the Oakland Athletics, and eating chocolate ice cream. Mr. Green’s favorite book is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which he teaches to the 10th grade each year. Interestingly, his favorite movie is The Maltese Falcon (1941), as he prefers classics to modern movies.  

   Mr. Green loves his relationships with his students as he feels the students “motivate [him]to develop [his]teaching skills and to deepen [his] knowledge” of English…so I can improve as a teacher.” He also notes that the students “appreciate their teachers” and “are very respectful.” A memory that stands out to Mr. Green at Beth Tfiloh is once he heard someone who was working in a group project remind the other group members to be more respectful towards someone in the group who kept Shabbat. That person told the group that someone else in the group kept Shabbat and needed to know before Shabbat started where they were meeting on Sunday. This memory stands out to Mr. Green because this story shows “what BT does best—give Jews of different backgrounds the chance to work together harmoniously.” 

   The best piece of advice that Mr. Green can offer to Beth Tfiloh high school students is, “do your best, be well rounded, and most of all be kind.” He additionally adds, “don’t hyper-focus on your grades!”