This school year, Kinnelon High School hired eight new teachers, including Peter Zablocki, a history teacher from Morris Knolls High School. He has been teaching for 14 years: four at Morristown and 10 at Morris Knolls.
“I went to William Paterson for my undergrad, and I went to American [University] for my grad school,” said Zablocki, talking about his educational background prior to becoming a teacher.
When asked why he wanted to become a teacher, his answer was, “I always liked the idea of helping others, so it seemed like a great profession for me.”
Ironically enough, he adds, “I did not like school, and nothing else was really interesting. I had a really cool professor in college that inspired me.”
When in class, teachers do not always reveal other interests or hobbies. Many teachers did not originally plan to teach, or they have another job that they would enjoy.
“I would be a park ranger, I’d talk to bears while I drive my Jeep in the woods…plus they have an awesome hat so I think I would just do it for the hat,” he said. When he was a child, his parents used to take their family camping and hiking in the woods. Now, this is something he does with his family, hoping that his children will appreciate it later on in their lives.
Zablocki has now been at KHS for about a month and already seems to be fitting in. “I am really loving it here at Kinnelon. The students have been very polite and overall excited to learn which makes it very exciting to teach them. My colleagues are super helpful as is the administration. Oh, and I really like the sandwiches from the cafeteria.”
