New Faculty Profile: Mr. Michael Larbi
Emily Zickuhr | sept. 7 2023 | Features
With the start of the 2023-2024 school year at Stanton College Preparatory School, a few new faces are greeting students, including mathematics and civics teachers, and guidance counselors. One of the faces, Mr. Michael Larbi, is a new addition to Stanton’s math department, and he will be teaching Algebra 2 and Advanced Placement Statistics.
As a recent addition to the faculty, Mr. Larbi is a blank slate to his students and fellow colleagues. Prior to teaching at Stanton, he taught middle school and high school level math in his home country of Ghana, where he built a strong connection with the students in his classroom. According to Mr. Larbi, his students were emotional upon hearing the news that he was leaving to teach at Stanton.
“I did love that school, and when I left, they were kind because they were going to miss me,” said Mr. Larbi, who is ready to tackle his future at Stanton and delve into mathematics, a subject he has been teaching all throughout his career.
“I started teaching mathematics because it is my subject and my passion, and it is really fun,” said Mr. Larbi.
Math, however, is not the only topic in which Mr. Larbi is interested. Besides teaching, he also works in the fashion field, an area he has been around since he was very young.
“I like styling myself. I’m a fashion designer myself, so that’s a special part of me and some of my family too,” said Mr. Larbi.
In addition to his aspirations for a career in fashion, Mr. Larbi also has ideas for the math department at Stanton. His previous teaching methods will now incorporate new technological elements, such as working with Focus, Duval County Public School’s grading system. In his home country, there were no computers used for lessons or grading, so technology will be an obstacle he is ready to face.
“The content is quite different from what we had in Ghana, so I am going to make sure I give my best for my first time,” said Mr. Larbi. “In Ghana, we didn’t use computers, so combining technology will be a sort of challenge, but by two or three months I will be okay, and I will know.”
The fresh environment of the new school is something Mr. Larbi is starting to get used to during his first few weeks at Stanton. Though he doesn’t have a permanent classroom yet, he is settling in and is already forming connections with his students in different classrooms and around campus. Mr. Larbi is prepared to approach his new teaching position with pride and enthusiasm as his colleagues and his students welcome him as a fresh face at Stanton.