Mr. Mazurek is an 8th grade English teacher at Manhattan Beach Middle School. The 2023-2024 school year has been his first year ever teaching at our school. Before teaching at MBMS, Mr. Mazurek taught English at Hawthorne High School. He taught 9th and 12th grade there for five years. Before that, Mr. Mazurek attended the University of Southern California where he got a degree in film. Mr. Mazurek worked in the film industry for years before getting a degree in teaching. He got his degree in teaching at Long Beach State University.

“I decided to become a teacher and stop my work in the film industry because I decided teaching has more purpose and will be more fulfilling,” Mr. Mazurek said. 

Recently, Mr. Mazurek has been working on his History credential for teaching. He has been working hard to get this credential so in the future he can broaden his teaching areas. With a History credential, he can be both an English teacher and a History teacher. 

“I am working on my History credential because I like to find new things that I enjoy doing and find more ways to serve my students,” Mr. Mazurek said. 

Working at MBMS has been a great experience for Mr. Mazurek. In his past years of teaching, Mr. Mazurek has only really taught high school. Teaching middle school has been a whole new experience for him. Throughout the year, he has gotten to work on different topics and work with a whole new age group of students. 

“The best thing about working at MBMS has been the students,” Mr. Mazurek said. “The students are so eager, funny, curious and sometimes crazy. They make work fun and enjoyable. English class is all about searching humanity and hearing perspectives. When you hear students talk, you hear the future. It is very cool to be a part of that.”

Though he is the one doing the teaching, he still has had many opportunities to learn. During this school year, Mr. Mazurek has had the opportunity to meet many other teachers and other people in his work field. With the help of other teachers Mr. Mazurek has been able to become an even better teacher. 

“Working with the English department has helped me broaden my ideas as a teacher, especially in regards to targeting certain skills and discussing student data and putting them back in the classroom,” Mr. Mazurek said. 

As a teacher, Mr. Mazurek has had to learn how to teach in the best way possible for both him and his students. Mr. Mazurek’s teaching style may be different from other teachers but it has definitely worked in his classroom. Teaching students in a way that they are able to absorb the information necessary and still have the freedom to learn in a way that works for them is hard but very important in every classroom.

“Mr. Mazurek does a great job teaching,” Gabi Lachance said. “I feel like I have learned a lot this year but I also have had a fun time in his class.” 

Enjoying learning is important and is something every teacher should try to incorporate into their teaching. Though giving students freedom is important, it is also necessary for a teacher to know the difference between chatting and working.

“In English class, we are given many opportunities to work with friends. I really like that because it makes class more fun,” Tessa Jackson said. “I also think Mr. Mazurek does a great job letting us work with our friends while keeping us on task.”