NCHSLive! sat down with Tony Armstrong for a Q&A.

NCHSLive!: Why did you decide you wanted to be a teacher?

Armstrong: “I decided in my senior english class when participating in a poetry discussion. I was one of the few people participating and I started to realize this is what I like doing, talking about literature and poetry. I thought ‘oh no I’m going to become an english teacher!’ and then I just saw for the rest of my life I wasn’t going to get any money or earn any respect.”

NCHSLive!: What’s something you want people to know about you?

Armstrong: “One, even though we look alike, I’m not Mr Townsend. Two, I really want to improve my students as thinkers and writers. Three, I think all teachers should make their students comfortable with uncertainty.”

NCHSLive!: What focus do you teach here?

Armstrong: “American and world film, and writing for seniors.”

NCHSLive!: What college did you go to to get your diploma?

Armstrong: “Ha! It took me 4 colleges to get my BA degree, my parents were worried. I went to Hanover, IU, IUPUI and Butler. It took me six years to get my degree. ”

NCHSLive!: What do you like best about teaching here?

Armstrong: I have friends and relatives that teach at other schools and I feel very lucky, because we have supportive administration, great diversity of students and I’ve been able to teach many different classes.”

NCHSLive!: What are things you like to do other than teach?

Armstrong: “Netflix and chill, Hulu and chill, I like to go out with friends when I can and see my kids. Also I like to travel to my favorite places, which are England and Italy.”

NCHSLive!: Since you’ve been a teacher, have you had any life changing realizations/experiences while being in a classroom? Maybe something a student has said or done, or just something you have learned from your students?

Armstrong: “I didn’t realize how little people like to work. When I was in school, I really liked school, I liked to do homework and I liked to participate. I just figured everybody else did too but when I became a teacher I realized most students don’t want to do the work.”

“Some positive realizations would be… When people come together as a group, and that might be a classroom group or something else, they have a compacity to care about each other. It’s like human beings need to be around other people to be a good person.
I’ m still a very isolated person but teaching forces me to be around other people so I’m forced to hear about what they’re going through.”