After years of Brewster Bingo and countless zany anecdotes that somehow relate to math, Mr. Brewster will be putting down the math books and picking up the golf clubs.
“I’ve taught at North Penn for 17 years, one at Hershey, 11 at Lebanon, and one year in New York City. I’ve primarily taught pre-calculus and geometry here,” Brewster said.
Before teaching, Brewster worked as a statistician, which he says helped him see how math works in the real world. What really brought him to North Penn was the incredible math program in place.
“When I first started teaching at North Penn, it was definitely the best math program, highest level of math out of the 5 different schools I taught at. And the teachers here before me made sure that I was teaching right.” Brewster said. “But before that, I worked as a statistical scientist for Pennsylvania Medical Sciences for a couple of years, and it really helped me see how math shapes the world. Through my experiences there, I teach math primarily through stories and analogies” Brewster stated. “It helps the students understand [math].”
His students feel the same way, stating, “Mr. Brewster didn’t just teach Pre-Calc;, he turned it into a math party where equations danced! With him, Pre-Calc wasn’t just about crunching numbers; it was about building an academic squad where everyone had a voice. He made us all believe that math could be as fun as a Friday night football game,” Akshay Krishnan and fellow students exclaimed.
Mr. Brewster loves all his students, but something that stands out to him is the drive and ambition shown by some of his most exceptional students, something that he seeks out.
“I enjoy teaching classes where kids want to succeed, I love teaching when students are driven, and this is not the end point, they see the big picture in where they want to go, and I love that. That’s what gets me up in the morning,” Brewster said.
Although teaching has taken much of his time, Mr. Brewster’s time outside the classroom revolved around music. He even had a band for a few years.
“4 teachers got together and had some fun. We had 3 albums, which you will never ever hear,” Brewster said jokingly. “But we got some gigs in Lancaster, the Lebanon area, Philadelphia, and even New York City.” Brewster exclaimed.
But after a short-lived career in music and teaching, Mr. Brewster is ready to begin the next part of his life: golfing and gardening.
“Golf, golfing, and golfing. Getting my game better than it is now. I’m going to garden, golf, and find some sort of job where I don’t have to take home tests and grade them on Saturday mornings,” Brewster said.
If Mr. Brewster could give one piece of advice that he could give to anyone, it’s: “Be a self made person; I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had to really, really struggle to afford college. I worked three jobs. And knowing that everything that I have now came from me and nothing from my parents, and that feeling that I made myself is way better than if it were ever given to me,” Brewster stated.