The Wrangler: How long have you been teaching at George Ranch High School, and did you teach at other schools before then?

Throop: This is my seventh year teaching, and no I did not teach at any other schools. This is the first school I’ve ever worked at.

The Wrangler: How many different subjects do you teach here, and what are they?

Throop: So currently this year I teach Geometry Pap, Calculus BC, I’m the Academic Decathlon coach, and I’m an Assistant Track Coach. Over the last seven years I have taught every math class except for statistics, and I’ve been doing Academic Decathlon for four years, and track for…this is my third year.

The Wrangler: What extracurricular activities or clubs do you run?

Throop: So, I run the Academic Decathlon, I’m an assistant track coach, I’m also the sponsor of the fishing team, and I used to be the sponsor of the Chess Club.

The Wrangler: And out of all of these, which is your favorite, and why?

Throop: It’s a real close tie. I like Track and Field because I get to go outside, and I enjoy going outside. I like Academic Decathlon because I love the material we learn, I find it very very fascinating, but I think if I had to had to choose, I would probably go with Track, because I really enjoy getting outside and working with the kids.

The Wrangler: So how do you balance teaching and running all of these different activities?

Throop: The balance is probably the hardest part. I definitely have become a master of time management. I don’t have any down time throughout the day, I make sure that every moment I’m actively doing something- because something always needs to be done. Personally I do wake up very early, I’m a morning person, so I set my alarm for 4:30 in the morning. That way I have time to eat my breakfast, drink my coffee, and then if I have to do something before school, for the day, it’s really easy to go ahead and take care of that in the morning. This year I have a third period conference period, which has been really nice, I’ve felt much more productive and I’ve been able to actually get a lot of stuff done for the day. And just overall making sure I just space stuff out. I try not to do work at home, in the evenings, I like to save that for my family time, but if I have to I have to. But overall just making sure that every moment that I’m here on campus I’m being productive.

The Wrangler: What made you decide to be a teacher, and what about a coach?

Throop: So when I was a junior in college, I decided I wanted to do something that just really changed and affected people’s lives in a positive way. And then I failed my biology class so I decided I wasn’t going to be a doctor. So I really thought teaching would be a great opportunity for me, I’ve always been really passionate and really good with math, so I really wanted to teach mathematics. Not just because I love mathematics, but because I know that for kids math can be this big mountain, this big challenge. Sometimes math has like a dark cloud over it, where people are scared of math, they have this math fear. So I definitely wanted to teach mathematics, because I just think that it’s something that once kids master they have a lot of confidence going forward and that can really make a positive impact in their lives.

The Wrangler: What inspired you to do what you do everyday?

Yeah, I just think back to some of the kids that I’ve taught and just some of the success they’ve had. You don’t necessarily see the success, like you do with those big moments, with like that one kid, that had all the odds against him, and they still pulled it out at the end, but you know that everyday you’re making little differences. You know that every now and then you’re going to see these monumental mountains, these kid will climb and it’s just some fun. And I always like when former students reach out to me, or they come back to visit. It just  lets me know that, you know, I am making an impact in this world, these kids are better off, they’re doing great things, and I had a little bit to do with that-not a lot, but a little bit.

The Wrangler: And finally, what advice do you have for students?

Throop: Yeah, so what I had to learn first hand was just time management as a teacher. I can only imagine how valuable time management is as a student. Because yes, I have a million things I have to do, but so do you guys. Y’all have seven classes a day, you got homework, you got reading, if your in band you have rehearsals, if you play sports you have practice, you know, it’s definitely a lot on your plate, and it can be overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to make a planner-that’s not weird, that’s not lame, I promise, I have a planner. Don’t be afraid to use your phone, you can literally schedule things in your phone, like reminders. Find ways to just make everything productive. Don’t just keep telling yourself, “I don’t want to do it now, I’ll do it later when I get home”. Because if you say that for like four classes, well now your at home life is going to be very very very busy, and moderately stressful. And then I’m also going to leave with this. Sleep kids. Sleep is very important. All nighters- not a good thing. Definitely go to sleep. You want to get your good six, seven, or eight hours if you can.