In the hallowed halls of academia, most Tower Hill students in the math and science building quietly take notes on complex formulas or memorize the various steps of the Krebs cycle. But in room 72, the complexities of mathematics and its confusing notation disappear as students actively participate in games and a teacher flies around the room juggling machetes on a unicycle.
“I think math should be fun, and putting the fun in math should be a priority.”
Meet Mr. Viscusi, Tower Hill’s new math teacher, a magician, master juggler, unicyclist, and a person with a strong passion for math education.
As a child, Mr. Viscusi loved to learn, taking inspiration and knowledge from wherever he could. From learning magic from his father, juggling at his sister’s softball games, or teaching himself to unicycle, he had a voracious appetite for trying new things.
Inspired by sibling rivalry over the common math game, 24, his math journey began at a young age as he embarked on a quest to master multiplication and division.
“I learned it to compete with my big brother and sister. Math has always been a game - something to play around with and figure out. I have my family's camaraderie and competition to thank for that.”
In combination with his desire to learn, Mr. Viscusi loved to teach. He developed an educational card game in fifth grade to help people learn factoring. As he puts it, it’s “a game where you think you're playing, but you're actually practicing your multiplication tables. You're suddenly learning all this new information by playing a little game.”
Even now, as a high school educator, games still play an important role in his unconventional teaching approach.
“His teaching style is like no other and is bounds more successful. What other teacher would ride a unicycle around the room or juggle knives to motivate their students?” says Grayson Kyle, a student in Mr. Viscusi’s linear algebra class. “His nonchalant yet animated attitude and commitment to helping others make him such an effective teacher.”
12th grade students work out a problem in
Mr. Viscusi's Linear Algebra class
Mr. Viscusi attributes his classroom adaptability and ability to make content easily understandable to his participation in drama throughout his schooling, starring in 17 productions over seven years.
“Drama teaches you about communication and responding to what’s happening around you.” In each class, he improvises a play, using his experience to communicate difficult content while actively making students engage with the content.
“I want you guys to be interacting in and outside the classroom. I’ve taught you everything you need to know. Now you guys are in charge.”
In contrast to the typical lecture or demonstration of practice problems, Mr. Viscusi challenges his students to try their own, throwing them into the deep end. He’s prepped with two full drawers of dry-erase markers, 1 for each student to solve problems on the whiteboards that span the walls of his room. The content of his lessons is similarly nuanced, discussing both mathematical concepts and professional notation.
“Math communication isn’t really a skill that’s taught, but it’s a skill that’s needed,” he explains. He hopes to make math more accessible and easier to understand, eliminating the barrier between students and the admittedly complicated notational conventions.
This year, Mr. Viscusi, along with Mrs. Jordan, head of the mathematics department, will be helping to manage the school’s math league team. Coming from a background of competition success, where in high school, he won the Pennsylvania and Delaware Section of the Mathematical Association of America regional conference against college graduate students, the team is excited to welcome him on board.
“Competition math is all based on tricks and timed tricks,” he states. “I want to take the club that we have here and circle it into something more based on research math.”
Using the lessons that Mr. Viscusi teaches in his class and his past competition experience, he aims to transform the club into a place where students have the opportunity to solve complex problems without the pressure of a competition timer ticking down.
Mr. Viscusi is a true mathematical magician. In his world, rules take a back seat to explanations, and math is a game where students can explore, play, and formulate the rules as they go. His unconventional approach to teaching and uncanny ability to foster growth and understanding in his students truly distinguish him as a great educator. As he aptly states, “Teaching is giving tools to people, and for me, there is nothing better than seeing the people I taught use those tools to succeed on their own.”