In his fifteen years of teaching mathematics at Belmont Hill, Mr. Stephen Feldman has left a lasting impact on the school. Whether explaining differential equations in his BC Calculus class, cracking jokes about setting up a zipline from his classroom to the Jordan, or coaching Varsity Alpine Skiing, Mr. Feldman has become a deeply respected and core member of the Belmont Hill community.
After obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree from Colby College and his Master’s Degree from Columbia University, Mr. Feldman set his sights on becoming a mathematics teacher, both due to his love for the subject as well as a keen interest in the psychology of teaching. In an interview with The Panel, he recalled: “Math is the academic subject that I was naturally drawn to, subject-wise, and I just found myself curious about the logical reasoning behind it all. The brain science behind how we learn things became very interesting to me as I learned about myself as a student; when choosing what to focus on when I entered the field of education, the obvious choice was math.”
Mr. Feldman’s strong passion for mathematics comes across in his teaching style, which is both uniquely collaborative and focused on building intuition. Rather than simply lecturing, he encourages students to explore new concepts together and guides them with probing questions: “I try to make classes very discovery-based at all times; I never like to hand out information, but rather try to build scenarios where it’s easily discovered.” Mr. Feldman’s unique approach to teaching has made learning math a much more enjoyable and interactive experience for students. His classroom teaching style connects to his broader teaching philosophy about individual agency and confidence when tackling problems as an individual.
Mr. Feldman also reflected on some of the highlights of working in a community like Belmont Hill, stating that his favorite part of being a teacher has been observing how the students in his class fully grasped material by talking their way through a problem or explaining a concept to a classmate: “There are lots of times where I’m listening, and I hear somebody say something or explain a formula in a particular way that I really like, and I’ll jump on. I am always impressed and thoroughly enjoy when somebody will work to explain something to a peer by curating it in a particular way, and it works.” When asked about a lesson that he would want his students to carry with them for the rest of their lives, Mr. Feldman replied: “Know what to do when you don’t know what to do. I think students should build a sense of agency and independence when doing challenging things. I think that’s something that is emphasized all over campus, and it’s something that I value immensely.” Mr. Feldman constantly expresses this viewpoint to his students as well, as he encourages them to not only nurture math skills but also problem-solving abilities that will aid them beyond the classroom.
Mr. Feldman is not only known across campus for his talents as a math teacher but also for his witty sense of humor and fun-loving pranks. He often jokes about setting up a zipline from his math classroom in Eliot to the Jordan Athletic Center, and he advocates for using the infamous “Brownell Sleaze Method” when appropriate for solving a problem. He emphasizes that the relationships and connections he has made over the years have been one of his favorite aspects of teaching at Belmont Hill: “I think it’s really cool that each day of the year looks the same on paper, but each day is very much its own thing. In reality, it’s the relationships, conversations and interactions with students and colleagues I have that actually make up my day.” One of his most well-known pranks has been the “marker graveyard,” where any time the neighboring Mr. Brownell sends a kid to ask Mr. Feldman to borrow markers, Mr. Feldman always gives ones that are out of ink, or “dead.” When the unsuspecting Mr. Brownell inevitably sends kids back to ask for more markers, Mr. Feldman provides yet another unusable marker. When asked about these shenanigans, Mr. Feldman replied: “I’ve been doing it for fifteen years and Mr. Brownell has still yet to catch on, so it makes me chuckle when kids come back two or three more times and we give them another one.”
Mr. Feldman has undoubtedly made a strong impact on countless students over the years and left a lasting mark on the school, and we will be sad to see him go after many years of passionate teaching and coaching. The Panel would like to give a huge thank-you to Mr. Feldman for everything he has done for Belmont Hill and wishes him the best of luck in all of his future endeavors!