Everyone knows Mr. Miller as the fishing-obsessed math teacher, but he’s much more than that. He often tells his students stories about his life and what he was up to before he started teaching.

Many teachers knew they wanted to teach when were in college; however, Mr. Miller said he “originally majored in aeronautical engineering but graduated a year after Grumman shut down on Long Island so [he] had to rethink [his]  future. [He] finally arrived at the fact that [he] loved coaching, math, science, and teaching was the right fit because you can make a positive difference in the world. [He] didn’t start teaching until [he]  was 30.” Mr. Miller also worked at a law school and was head of admissions but he decided that wasn’t what he wanted to do either.

Mr. Miller has been teaching for 27 years, and his favorite parts about teaching are “working and interacting with kids.” He also said “grading is definitely the worst.” A lot of kids taking Mr. Miller’s classes think trigonometry is by far the worst discipline in math, but Mr. Miller loves it. He said “I find it to be challenging and I’m always learning new things.” He also said he loves teaching kids how to use “power tools in home repair.”

When asked what grade is Mr. Miller’s favorite to teach, he said “hands down precalculus, 11th grade precalculus. It’s been my class for 26 years here and the curriculum is my curriculum. I love 11th graders because they can see the light at the end of the tunnel and they for the most part don’t have junioritis.”

Mr. Miller teaches four different classes but still has time outside of school to do the things he loves. He goes fishing all the time and has a charter boat he takes people fishing on, he went hiking in Alaska and got lost, he has a dog named Sofie and she goes hiking with Mr. Miller and his family, he went to Hawaii and got taken out by a wave on a boogie board, and he helps his kids play senior assassin. 

Here are some more classic stories Mr. Miller has shared with his classes:

• He was duck hunting with his friends in High School and they all almost got shot by random hunters
• His son Lucas was selling lacrosse gear and Mr. Miller was nervous he was in the Russian Mafia 
• He was skydiving and the airplane was malfunctioning but Mr. Miller still jumped and landed safely
• When he met his wife, he found a turtle on his front lawn and they bonded over the turtle. Mr. Miller ended up leaving the turtle in the tank with the heater on and the turtle was cooked alive
• His friend was failing algebra and asked Mr. Miller to tutor him because his friend needed algebra to pass the class. Mr. Miller tried his hardest but his friend was so behind he ended up failing
• His dog Sofie got bit by a snake on a hike and Mr. Miller had to carry her miles all the way to the car and bring her to the vet. She ended up being okay
• Mr. Miller was on the rowing team for his high school and they were state champions
• Mr. Miller has his diving license and his pilot’s license
• Mr. Miller found out he had a half brother, found him in a phone book and got in contact with him
• Mr. Miller has run SIX marathons
• When Mr. Miller was hiking with his dog they ran out of water for the dog and him
• His dog fell off the boat and went under it, she came out the other side unharmed
• Sofie’s (the dog’s) tongue got stuck in a fish’s mouth and Mr. Miller had to get it out
• Mr. Miller flew in a special plane with zero gravity