01:10
Mark Hannum Highlight
Fear of the unknown is innate to humans; it's never going to go away. But you just have to kind of accept it and take that jump off the cliff.
About Mark
- He was a math and physics double major and he was ready to enter the research field and become a professor.
- One day, his advisor showed him an article that said that each American state only gains one new degreed physics teacher each year.
- He decided, "Okay, I should devote some of my life to teaching these kids."
- Before that, he and his wife decided that they wanted to go explore Europe, and he got a job teaching in Austria.
- That job gave him some time to learn the craft of teaching and mature as a person and as a teacher.
- Afterwards, he returned to the U.S. to fulfill his goal of teaching physics; now runs a lab at one of the best public high schools in the country.
- He always had his teaching goals in the back of his mind, but he never let those prevent him from pursuing big opportunities, like going to Europe.
- He loves his work because the human brain contains so much mystery, and it's amazing to pass along that sense of wonder to his students.
