Welcome to a new article series called Teacher Spotlight. Throughout the rest of the year, teachers in the Beth Tfiloh High School will be interviewed with the goal of providing the student body a little more information about its teachers. If you have any specific questions you want to have asked, or a specific teacher you want to be interviewed, contact any member of BT’s Kol BT (newspaper) staff. For the first edition of Teacher Spotlight, I reached out to Mr. Monroe with 10 questions. Below you will find the questions and his responses.

1. How long have you worked at Beth Tfiloh?
   1. This is my 13th year at BT.
2. Which classes do you teach?
   1. Generally, I teach 10th and 11th grade US History and 12th grade AP Macroeconomics.
3. Which is your favorite class to teach?
   1. In terms of content, I enjoy 11th grade US History the most, as I love teaching about the economic rise in the late 1800s and the 1960s.
4. What is your favorite memory at Beth Tfiloh?
   1. My favorite memory is my first assembly at BT.  I was shocked at how the upper classes embraced the new freshmen and how encouraging the students were of each other.  This was not the case at previous schools where I taught.
5. What is the best piece of advice you can give to high school students?
   1. My advice is to concentrate on your effort, over and above any concern for grades.  If you give an honest, conscientious effort, then what more can you ask of yourself?
6. What is your favorite piece of writing?
   1. My favorite short story is A River Runs Through it, by Norman Maclean.  My favorite novel is West with the Night by Beryl Markham, and, my favorite non-fiction is Homo Deus, by Yuval Harari.
7. What is your favorite movie?
   1. Godfather II or Apocalypse Now
8. What is your favorite quote?
   1. “To thine own self be true.”  – Shakespeare
9. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
   1. In my spare time I like to golf, fish, garden, read, and hang out with friends.
10. Is there any information you are comfortable with sharing about your family?
    1. I am a proud father of 3 BT graduates.  I am also fortunate to have found the love of my life, who has managed to put up with my warped sense of humor for the past 25 years.