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About Mr. Minner
Like all teachers, Mr. Minner is human and has a life of his own!
Here are Mr. Minner's personal answers to some of the questions he is most often asked by students.
How old are you?
I am two years less than five times as old as the typical 8th grader in September of the school year and the sum of our ages is 76!
Do the math! By the way, how many days old are you?
How long have you been a teacher?
I began my teaching career as an 8th grade teacher of mathematics at Bennett Junior High School in Salisbury, MD three years after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon!
When did you graduate from high school?
 I graduated from high school the same evening that Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a candidate for President of the United States, was assasinated after giving a speech in Los Angeles, California. It was 2 months to the day
after Rev. Martin Luther King was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a bad time in our country.
What was it like for you being a teenager in high school?
 Each generation shares common experiences with the younger generation. Just like you go out of your way to not look and act like your parents and grandparents my generation did the same!
We had our own sense of fashion (tie dyed t-shirts, bell bottom jeans, flowers, and beads), we liked our own music
(Motown sounds of the Four Tops, Temptations, Supremes, as well as groups from California like the Beach Boys, Mamas & Papas, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and, of course...The Beatles!), and we had
our own way of talking (Far Out, Groovy, Peace!). We're known as the Baby Boomers, the generation of kids that followed the end of World War II.
What's the worst thing you ever did?
I got into the movies for a child's price when I was 15! Really...that's the worst thing I ever did! By the way, the movies were in color!
The price of admission back then was $.35 for children and $1.00 for adults!
What's the worst thing that ever happened to you when you were in school?
 President Kennedy was killed just before Thanskgiving vacation when I was in the 8th grade. We received the announcement at school just before 1:00 PM.
I was in music class and I remember how stunned we were. Several students began to weep and we were all sent home shortly thereafter. It was an extremely sad situation for our whole country and one I hope you never have to experience.
 Why did you decide to become a teacher?
For the money, of course!
No, really?
Aside from people in my own family the people that most influenced me positively when I was growing up were my teachers.
I had some great teachers who instilled in me a love of learning and a desire to be the best I can be. They worked long and hard hours and did not make a lot
of money, but they always had time for me. They were wonderful role models who genuinely enjoyed passing on those positive qualities to my generation. I want to do the same for yours!
Do you have other roles models?
I admire all people who speak with courage to promote their convictions in order to make our world a better place for all people, even if I do not particularly agree with them.
All Americans are lucky in that regard.
  Particular people that I admire are Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Bill Cosby, Muhammed Ali, Bill Gates, my 12th grade English teacher, and my boyhood sports heroes like
Brooks Robinson and Johnny Unitas. Even though I love music and movies I do not get caught up in the hero worship of entertainers.
There are also many of my students that I've taught through the years that I admire because I see in them the qualities that will lead them to be role models and leaders for their generation.
They're going to do great things and have quite an impact on the world in which they live.
Why did you decide to teach math?
The one thing I shared in common with my father was baseball. It did not take me long to learn that I could get more enjoyment out of the game if I learned to compute batting averages and the like.
So, I liked math from the beginning. For a while in elementary school I wanted to be a baseball player, then an astronaut, and then an interpreter at the United Nations.
After getting to high school I decided that teaching math was it! I'm guessing that, even though you think you know what you'd like to do someday, you'll probably change your mind dozens of times.
Are you married with children?
I married a beautiful young woman named Sherry 4 years after Richard Nixon became the first American to resign as President of the United States. My son, Ian, was born the day after
President Ronald Reagan survived an assasination attempt in Washington, D.C. They are the most important things in my life! You guys are a close number 4!
Number 4? What happened to 2 and 3?
Aside from my family I value my health and my education. It is difficult to lead a happy life without good health and, I owe who I am today to my education. I think that you're never too old to learn. I try to learn something new each day and
hope you'll come to value your education, too!
Are you a Republican or a Democrat?
I always exercise my civic duty to vote, but I'll never tell you for whom I voted. As your teacher I believe it is essential that
I encourage you to think for yourselves, look at both sides of an issue, debate the merits of each, and form your own educated opinions. We
both have the rights to our views. Sometimes we're right and sometimes we're wrong, but we need to think for ourselves.
What do you do for fun?
 I read math books, of course! I also like to barbecue, play golf, travel, and attend sporting events. I'm a lifelong fan of the Baltimore Orioles and have been fortunate enough to see them play in 5 World Series.
I follow the Baltimore Ravens and have seen them win 2 Super Bowls in this century. I enjoy photography, all kinds of music, good stand-up comedy, and going to the movies.
The most fun, of course, is the free entertainment that my students provide everyday! You never know what they are going to do or what is going to happen. I would never experience that if I was working at a job
where I had to hang out with people my own age!
What is your favorite book, movie, and music CD?
My all time favorite novel is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I think the message is universal and applicable to every generation.
 There are 2 movies that are special to me.
The best movie ever made, particularly when you consider it was made prior to computer technology, is The Wizard of Oz. (Did you know that the Scarecrow tries to say the Pythagorean Theorem when he thinks the Wizard has given him a brain?) The other movie that holds a place in my heart is Field of Dreams because of the way it beautifully portrays the relationship that every kid wants to have with his father.
I really like all types of music...even yours! On my 20th Wedding Anniversary I burned a CD as a gift to my wife that contained songs from that time; songs that reflected what it was like when we met, got married,
had a child, and worked on developing a wonderful life together. You probably wouldn't like it even though you would recognize some of the songs!
What advice would you give to your students?
Listen to your parents, grandparents, and teachers. They've been there...done that! There is no problem you'll ever encounter that they have not already tackeled.
They want the best for you!
  Get an education! As time goes by, your relationships will come and go, good looks will fade, and your hair will fall out or turn white. You'll always have
your education and nobody can take it from you. It is the key to happiness, success, and a long and fruitful life. Without an education you will be unable to pass to the next generation
the values necessary to live life to its fullest. Right now, in 2013, an American with a college degree earns, on average, $23,000 a year more than one with just a high school education.
Most of you are better students than I was in high school and I think I turned out OK. Challenge yourself, be persistent, and don't be afraid to make mistakes along the way! Live well, laugh often, and love much. DO THE RIGHT THING!
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Laurel Intermediate Middle School