Out of the hundreds of teachers here at Lamar, almost none can match 11th grade math teacher Benito Toscano’s passion for his job. He is the “it-girl” when it comes to creating valuable relationships with his students and taking time with them to get the material no matter what it takes. “Getting to know my kids is so much fun,” says Mr. Toscano. “Even when they don’t get the math, they still try. I hardly have kids that just give up. I love it when they try.” His vibrant and fun personality makes him a teacher that student’s love to be around; both in and out of the classroom. After only four years of being here, he has made an unrivaled impact on both his student’s and coworkers’ hearts.
Mr. Toscano’s love for math made him noticeable since the start of his career. “I always liked math,” says Mr. Toscano. “I was the kid in college who would help people out. Teaching is fun to me.” His passion for math and his extroverted personality has made his lessons easy to understand. Every single lesson has internet slang and pop culture references integrated into it, making class fun and engaging to his young Gen-Z students. “Building relationships with the kids is honestly so special.” exclaims Mr. Toscano.
He takes time to make sure that every single one of his students feel seen, including outside of the neighborhood’s walls. “My favorite part of this is going to school events like football games and going, oh my God, there are my football kids! My cheerleaders! My band kids! It’s fun to see the kids doing things they like to do outside of class.” gushes Mr. Toscano. His love for his students includes treating them with kindness and compassion. “There are a lot of teachers that are like, I want my kids to fear me, but that’s not what I want at all,” he says. “Anyone can teach the smart kids. The challenge is how to get the kids who don’t get math, get math. I love that challenge.”
Even though he comes to work prepared to have fun, sometimes it’s hard for him to balance his work and social life. “There’s been days where I drive home completely in silence because I am so overstimulated that I don’t have anything left in me,” admits Mr. Toscano. “I’ll leave here at 7 pm because I’m grading and then I’ll come back at 7 am because I want to be prepared for these kids. It gets really overwhelming sometimes. It’s so much, I don’t have the capacity to go out and have my own social life because I give all my energy to these kids. I’m always really scared that I’m going to get up and teach and no one is going to get it, even the smart kids, because if not that means I’m doing something wrong. I’m a very anxious person, so I’m always questioning whether I did a good job or not.”
However, despite the stress, Mr. Toscano can always find comfort with his teacher besties. “My teacher besties help me get through the day,” beams Mr. Toscano. “Ms. Watson has been my teacher bestie since day one. They’re all really supportive, because people who aren’t teachers don’t get how stressful this job is. Having teacher besties helps you feel seen and you can vent to them with no judgment because they will know exactly what you are going through.”
Mr. Toscano is so intense about education, he is currently looking to better his teaching skills by achieving a masters in Curriculum and Instruction. “It’s basically a specialization in mathematics instruction, so I could become a dean or a teacher coach.” says Mr. Toscano. “But for now, I want to stay in the classroom.”
For Mr. Toscano, the real question is to slay or not to slay. His cheerful teaching skills will be here for years to come (or as long he keeps being Brat!). “This is my crazy. This is my work. This is my controlled chaos.” beams Mr. Toscano. “I really love being a teacher here everyday!”
