Hello Mr. Perez, how are you doing today?

That sounds so fake man just be real.

That’s how I’m speaking it’s an interview, dude.

No one speaks that way.

Maybe I speak that way.

Okay, if you say so.

First question, why did you decide to become a high school Language Arts Teacher?

I had a really good English teacher during my senior year: Mrs. Bones. She was the first person who really told me I had ability; no one really did that before.

What connected you to Language Arts over other subjects?

It was, like, the one thing I was good at, and again Mrs. Bones really identified me for it. So, you know, she put it in my head that I could be a teacher or a writer, and I thought, okay, I’ll do both then.

Based off of what you just said, you are a writer, specifically a poetry writer, a very good one a-

If you say so.

I do say so, hence, therefore-

Hence, therefore, seriously?

Yes, hence, therefore, have you ever thought about what you use poetry for in your day-to-day life?

Catharsis, strictly catharsis. Something happens, I jot it down. Kid says something dumb, I put it on the board. You know, I just try to stem ideas and connect things together.

Is there any aspect of your Language Arts teaching that you enjoy the most?

If we are talking strictly the job, just the student population; I like getting to know my students.

Vibing with the class?

Yep, just vibing with the class.

As an AP teacher, what is your view on AP classes and how they impact education?

Oh my god, that’s a loaded question, man. Some days, I just think it’s, like, all a scam, but most days I realize there is value to it; I have to tread the line for both, I guess. I don’t want to teach to the test because you have to make sure kids get something out of the class, but you need to make sure the pass rate is high enough for administration. You have to take it as a personal goal to get as many kids as possible to take it and to pass it, but the test shouldn’t be the only indicator that you are doing something correctly.

What would your biggest piece of advice be to aspiring writers as well as the people who want to improve themselves in Language Arts?

Continue to write, continue to read, expose yourself to as much as you can. Reading, film, music, art; it’s not always about books; you have to expose yourself to a lot of different experiences. If you only like hip hop, maybe try jazz.

Other than poetry and writing, how do you choose to spend your free time?

Honestly, when I’m not parenting my kids and stuff and I have time for myself, I do archery.  I used to wrestle and do martial arts but I steered away from that, and I make beer.

You make beer?

Yeah, that’s what I’m into right now.

Interesting. You’re definitely known around campus for being the best teacher who has ever lived.

Oh, that’s news to me.

No, but for real though, everyone sees you as a really solid teacher. I’ll bring you up and like three kids around the class will say how much they enjoyed your class. Even people you criticize in class-

I don’t do that.

Yeah, you do.

Well, I put them on blast, I call them out.

Okay, well, even those people will be like, “Oh no, yeah, it’s cool, I like him.” But yeah, do you carry that same tough love kind of thing in your day-to-day life?

Yeah, I used to try and put on my “teacher hat” when I was teaching and my “parent hat” when I went home, but those to me are masks so I prefer to just be the way am here at home. The way I teach my students is pretty much the way I parent my own children.

Last question, what would be your best piece of advice for upperclassmen who are about to enter the “real world”?

You guys gotta make some changes, man. This place is–we aren’t doing too good right now, and regardless of political party, religion, or whatever, just go make changes man, make this place better.

And that’s the interview, we did it!

Ayeee.