Last year, we here in the Raider Review began the Spotlight Series in order to highlight some of the wonderful educators we have here at Central. This will be the second in the spotlight series as we feature Mr. Pastore before his retirement at the end of this year.
Many of you reading this surely know Mr. Pastore. You might know him as the sophomore math teacher, or the freshman pre-AP math teacher. Regardless of how you know him, you will surely know that he is a wonderful teacher because he teaches effectively, makes his classes not stressful, and is genuinely happy to teach here at Central.
Similar to the previous spotlight on Mr. Denmead, we got an interview with Mr. Pastore and are excited to share a portion of the interview with him here.
Raider Review: How long have you been teaching math here at Central?
Mr. Pastore: This is my 30th year teaching math, and I spent 10 years in industry before that.
RR: What courses have you taught over the past 30 years?
Mr. Pastore: Yeah, actually when I came to Central all of my courses were what we now call level 3 classes. Then I went on to teach some level 2 classes and of course now I have a combination of honors courses and some level 2 courses with different subjects such as geometry, algebra 2, trigonometry, and precalculus.
RR: Overall, would you say that you’ve enjoyed your time teaching here?
Mr. Pastore: Actually, I love teaching and I’ve had some great years here. I was fortunate to work in industry first, so I got to see what it’s like. It’s been quite a great experience working with kids, and I got to meet people who are magnificent. Students keep you acting young and thinking young. And best of all, while we’re meant to be the teachers, you people really tend to be the teachers.
Students teach us about resiliency and all the things going on in their lives and how they battle through them, they teach us about friendship. There’s so many things we learn from our students, how passionate they are. So, I’ve loved every bit of it, and that’s before you get to the summer vacations, Christmas vacation, April vacation. There are a lot of great reasons to love teaching schedule wise, but the best thing about teaching is the experiences we have with the young people that enter our lives
RR: You are famous for telling your students about “the journey.” Can you share that with us?
Mr. Pastore: The journey is different for everybody and I always say to my students “It’s not really about the journey to the highest level school you can get or the most money you could make, life is the journey to find happiness. If I can help my students find happiness, then they’ve got 90% of the value.”
Everybody that goes to school here is going to go to college, that’s a given, but some maybe don’t want to go to college, but what matters is that you’re happy and that you remain healthy.
RR: What has stuck out to you the most during your time here at Central, particularly about the environment that the school creates?
Mr. Pastore: Given that we are a Catholic school, and I came and chose to work at a Catholic school, it’s been a great experience. I know who I want my students to see me as, I want to be seen as kind and empathetic towards them and any problems have. I love knowing and teaching math, but I am really teaching the whole person. It’s not just about math, it’s about life, relationships, and all the things that help us find happiness.
This type of environment is perfect for that and I love the fact that it is our mission to educate the whole person but it is also our mission to make sure we look out for the least favored. So, I always look at my job as finding students that have been struggling a little bit and trying to reach out to them and work with them and make a difference.
That’s the thing about Central Catholic, the people here and the institution, they all try to make this a place where we can make a difference in people’s lives. By doing that, we make the world a better place, which is what is so great about teaching. It’s not about your students making a ton of money. I love I see former students making a difference wherever they can, that’s what makes Central Catholic so special.
RR: If you could give one last message to the entirety of the Central Catholic community before your retirement at the end of this year, what would it be?
Mr. Pastore: Well I’m going to go back to a book that I’ve read for a lot of years called Tuesdays with Morrie. It’s about a former student that goes back to a former teacher who’s dying from ALS, and he tells his former student that so many people walk around without meaning in their life. And that the meaning of life is to devote yourself to loving others, to devote yourself to your community, and to devote yourself to something that gives you purpose and meaning. I think we’re all in search of that, and I find my purpose in teaching.
Now, that’s not going to be everyone’s purpose and meaning, but find your purpose, because if you find your purpose and you devote yourself to others and to loving your community, you’ll have a good and happy life. Now, you may never be a great math student but that never gets in the way of your happiness. I’ve been fortunate that I got to spend 30 years here and had a chance to have an impact on some people’s lives, and they’ve had an impact on mine.
Mr. Pastore’s love for our school and his students is reflected in his answers. It is clear that he cares about his students and tries to make their time here at Central great.
After the interview with Mr. Pastore, we then asked some former and current students what they thought about him.
Trenton Cannata, a Sophomore here at CCHS who had Mr. Pastore in his Freshman year, described him as a good person who was very open and nice to talk to. He mentioned how Mr. Pastore would often help him to study for his tests in the class.
Amaya Rojas, a Sophomore who is currently in Mr. Pastore’s math class, said she loves his energy. She said she looks forward to his class, and enjoys his simplicity in how he explains math problems. Mr. Pastore made math easy for her. She said he is very approachable and she really likes him as a person.
Hieu Do, a Freshman here at CCHS who has Mr. Pastore, describes him as patient and thorough in terms of teaching. He then went on to say that Mr. Pastore has allowed him to grow as a student across the board.
Sekelela Jere, a Freshman here at CCHS who also has Mr. Pastore, describes his class as being chill and never stressful. She also says that the way his class is set up has given her more confidence in her other classes.
An anonymous Freshman who currently has Mr. Pastore describes him as very kind and understanding when students don’t understand something. He also says that Mr. Pastore often makes a point to help students who are struggling.
It is clear, based on our interview with Mr. Pastore and some of his former and current students that he truly loves teaching and is great at it. Mr. Pastore has a uniqueness in his teaching style that anyone who’s had him surely knows. But all good things must come to an end, as we now must say goodbye to Mr. Pastore after 3 decades, here at Central Catholic.
