If two answers ever summed up just how exceptional, special and dedicated Matt Inch is when it comes to teaching it’s these two. And keep in mind how well these two answers go together – almost as well as Dexter and Dreadnaughts go together.
Answer 1: When asked about the challenges of teaching in a pandemic, the Dexter High School math teacher’s answer was all about how things impact the students – that was his only concern. “The biggest challenge for me over the past year was getting hired two days before school started, and having to get onboard quickly without impacting student learning,” he said.
Answer 2: When offering advice to someone interested in pursuing teaching as a career, Inch said: “You don’t teach for yourself, you teach for the kids,” Inch says.
And that’s why Matt Inch is in Dexter.
How he arrived here is an interesting journey and one that begins in Oakland County. He graduated from Clarkston High School in 2006 and even then enjoyed sharing his knowledge with others. “I have always enjoyed working with the high school age group,” he says. “I have been working with high school aged students/athletes since I graduated high school.”
Inch then headed to East Lansing where he graduated FIRST in his class at Michigan State University where he earned a B.S. in engineering with a minor in supply chain management.
We will let him pick up the story …
“Right after graduation I took a job in Seattle working for a large construction machinery manufacturer, ‘Terex,’” he says. “That job moved me down to Texas a year and a half in. I worked there for another year or so, then transitioned into teaching.”
Inch, 32, received his teaching certificate in Texas in 2012 and taught Pre-Calculous and Algebra 2 at JJ Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas, for two years.
He eventually motored his way back to Michigan but left the classroom.
“When I left teaching down in Texas and came back to Michigan I worked at General Motors in IT,” he says. “I worked on a lot of the in-vehicle / connected vehicle technology.”
After seven years in the corporate world, Inch returned to teaching and took a job at Dexter High School teaching Pre-Calculus (sophomores and juniors), Geometry (sophomores and juniors) and Algebra 9 (freshman). He also helps coach the cross country and track teams.
And what is it about teaching that he enjoys?
“The biggest reward to me as a teacher is seeing students recognize their achievements and progression, not specifically in math but rather in the day to day student practices,” he says. “I always love seeing the ‘Light Bulb’ go off in student’s heads.”
Inch, who is married to “my beautiful wife Courtney,” says he loves teaching math
because it challenges students.
“I enjoy trying to get the students to stop thinking about math traditionally, and think about it as it were any other class,” he says. “If you can break math down into words and understand it that way, you can always attach numbers to the words. Students who ‘don’t like math’ tend to have a hard time attaching meaning to what we learn, and, therefore, it’s much harder to absorb the content. If you can relate day-to-day meaning to math, it is much more chewable, and therefore will be more fun to learn day in and day out!”
Breaking down Matt Inch in words is simple and it all adds up to exceptional.
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