Bixler balances the teaching equation

Science teacher Mr. Jonathan Bixler joined the Milton High School staff this year as the Academic and Honors Chemistry teacher. He said his job entails “teaching stuff, then testing.”

Mr. Bixler said he grew up in Selinsgrove and graduated from Selinsgrove High School, adding that his fondest high school memory was playing football there. In high school he said his dream job was to be a doctor. He added he chose not to become a doctor because he did not want to “do another five years of college.”

Mr. Bixler added he wanted to teach instead of becoming a chemist because he “didn’t want to watch stuff drip into a test tube all day.”

Mr. Bixler earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Susquehanna University, he said, adding that his favorite part of college was “going to class a couple times a day, and then being free.” He said his college lifestyle differed from his current job, where he must stay every day until 3:05 p.m.

According to Mr. Bixler, this is his second year of teaching. He said he previously taught at Lewisburg High School as an Academic, Honors and AP Chemistry teacher.

He said he most looks forward to teaching higher levels of chemistry as the semester continues. He added that he would like his students to become “better problem solvers by the time they walk out the door.”

Mr. Bixler said his biggest obstacle is managing all of the duties that teaching includes.

He said he likes to incorporate jokes, authentic examples and fun into his teaching environment, adding he most enjoys doing the flame test lab. This involves placing metal powders in a fire and seeing the different colors produced, Mr. Bixler said.

Mr. Bixler’s hobbies include watching football, soccer and baseball, he said, and he added his favorite teams are the Patriots and the Red Sox. He said he likes to do school work and

play video games outside of school. Mr. Bixler said students would be surprised that “[he is] the coolest person in the room.”

Senior Spencer Mabus said Mr. Bixler is “a grade A teacher, especially because he gives me A grades.” Spencer said he would describe Mr. Bixler’s teaching style as refreshing.

Spencer added that his favorite time in class so far was when they got off-topic and started talking about time travel and relativity. “Relativity is when time passes differently from different perspectives,” he added.

Spencer said the most interesting Chemistry discussion in Mr. Bixler’s class was about atomic emission and the wave spectrum. “Atomic emission is when an electron is excited, it rises through the energy levels. When it drops back to another level, the difference in energy is given through light,” he added.

Mr. Bixler added that the ideal students are “people that are hard workers but also know how to have fun.”