He ain’t no fool, but he ain’t yet on the A team either.
Mr. Patrick TeVrucht, or “Mr. T” as students call him, currently serves as a substitute teacher for Ms. Seppala while she is on maternity leave. He teaches the Honors Geometry and Advanced Algebra classes.
Mr. T has not always been a substitute teacher. “Before I became a substitute teacher, I served 20 years in a variety of sales positions,” said Mr T.
Three years ago he became a substitute teacher, inspired by positive experiences while coaching his daughter’s basketball team. “I really liked the feeling of helping kids learn,” said Mr. T. He came to Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School via a family connection, his stepson, junior Joe Pettinger.
He tries his best to give real life situations to the problems he teaches in his math classes. “I like to add life lessons in with my teachings,” said Mr. T. One of his main lessons is the importance of hard work.
Mr. T’s students really enjoy his classes, because he makes learning fun. “He has a good balance of fun and work in the classroom; he is funny sometimes, but also knows when to get down to business,” said junior Mikey Koller.
However, Mr. T does not want to be a substitute for the rest of his life, “at some point I would like to become a full time teacher,” he said. To achieve his ambition, Mr. T went back to school to receive a Master’s Degree in Education at the University of St. Mary’s in Minneapolis.