David Hartigan holds up a Sudoku puzzle. Sudoku is among is favorite acitivites.
David Hartigan
- Where did you work before Lab?
- For the last 13 years Mr. Hartigan has been teaching math at University Liggett School just outside of Detroit. He grew up in the Chicagoland area and has spent most of his life in Chicago. When applying to Lab, he looked at all the private schools in the area and said he feels lucky to be working at Lab.
- How would you describe your style of teaching?
- “If I had to choose one word, I probably would say ‘energetic.’ Because I show a lot of energy — isn’t that cool — because I love math. In terms of an educational philosophy, the idea behind it is I want to promote mathematical thinking. I want the students to be able to discover things. Coming in new, that’s one of the things I have to figure out about the student body: where the different students are in their own ability to think by themselves rather than mimic.”
- What do you hope your students will say about you or your class at the end of the year?
- “Beyond the ability to think, there still is, there always has been and there always will be the balance between your problem solving and your skills. The mathematics have to be there and the mathematical thinking. I want them to learn all of the subject matter. Whether it’s the Algebra I, the AAAT or the AB Calculus, they’re gonna learn that curriculum, but hopefully they learn it in a context that builds up their ability to think. The ability to think will transfer outside of just mathematics as well.”
- What was one of your favorite pandemic activities?
- Mr. Hartigan has enjoyed spending time with his dad through taking short walks and cooking for him.