Q + A: History Teacher Darin Haydock
January 16, 2014
Social Science teacher Darin Haydock loves playing board games and spending time with his family. He loves when his students are inspired by history and idolizes the fictional character Gandalf.
What’s your favorite movie?
“I love the Lord of the Rings movies. Of the three movies my favorite is definitely the first one because it conveys the sense that there is a glimmer of hope even though they are surrounded by horrible people. The first movie gives me hope.”
What is the last book you read and did you like it?
“The last book I read was Circle by Dave Eggers. It’s a book that similar to the book 1984 but it’s written for the internet age. It’s about a computer company taking over the world. It shows how social media could one day end up taking over the world. It was really scary.”
What do you love the most about your job?
“I like to talk about ideas. The reason I became a teacher was because I like to think about history, and I like to think about how the big ideas in history work.”
What is the most difficult part of your job?
“The hardest part of my job is not always feeling that your hard work is appreciated by others. People don’t go into teaching necessarily for money, they go into it because they want to serve and they want to do something good. Occasionally, people like to hear that they’re doing a good job.”
What do you love the most about working with kids?
“I like the idea that kids have potential. Kids are just starting in the world and with the right beginnings they can become anything they want to be. My class could spark an interest in someone that can change their lives. Just being able to affect people in that way because they’re young is really neat.
What is the strangest job you’ve ever had?
I was a process server after I got out of college. A process server is the person who delivers court orders to people who are being sued. One time I delivered a court order to someone once and that person followed me and tried to beat me up. So, it was really dangerous. “
What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid?
“I never really thought a lot about the future when I was a kid. When I was a kid I wanted to be President of the United States because I thought being a President meant making a change. Turns out it’s only about politics, so I’m happy being a teacher.”
Who is your favorite super hero and why?
“Comic book super heroes are great, but nobody beats Gandalf. He’s not a typical super hero, but he would beat all of the super heroes put together. He was always a force for good.”
What’s your guilty pleasure?
“If you put a bag of Doritos in front of me, I would not turn them down. Doritos and any kind of chips.”
Do you have any hobbies?
“I love playing board games. I have a collection of 413 board games and I go to conventions and play them with my family often. My favorite board game is Agricola which stimulates 17th century Germany farming.”
