Mr Scullin: “You’re not going to take things out of context are you?”

Sam Schlosser: “Like the yellow press”

Mr Scullin: “Hey good knowledge!”

That is how our fateful meeting with Mr. Scullin began. Prior to our interview, we had never met this teacher that everyone, and we mean everyone, talks about. What we were greeted with in our interview was a friendly classroom, a plethora of laughing students and an aura of knowledge. He is beloved throughout Harriton and his passion for social studies has made him one of the most sought after history teachers at our school. His creative lesson plans, humorous demeanor and superior taste in pizza only add to his spectacular resume! Read on and decide for yourselves. Is Mr. Scullin awesome, or are we crazy? Who knows, maybe both are true.

Harriton Banner: What is you favorite lesson to teach students in any of your classes?

Mr. Scullin: That’s a tough one.  I love teaching all sorts of things. I love teaching Western Civ, although I don’t teach that anymore. I love teaching U.S History Honors. I love teaching Philosophy. My favorite lesson in Philosophy is when we talk about morals, like what is right and wrong. I have the kids say the worst thing they have ever done, and we try to figure out if what they did was moral or immoral. Then we examine laws and why they exist. Are they moral or immoral. It’s more exciting than it sounds.

As for U.S. History I really love teaching this lesson on the Philippine Commission, which a lot of people don’t know about. It was a human zoo that Americans made to promote the ideas of imperialism and dominance over the Filipinos!

Emily: A human zoo?!

Mr. Scullin: A human zoo, dude. I think it was 1903. Wait don’t quote me on that….actually you can; you’re the newspaper..oh-ah-okay

HB: What is the weirdest thing a student has ever said to you?

Michael Walsh: Go ahead. Tell them what I did.

Mr. Scullin: Oh my god, I see a lot of kids come in here and hang out a lot so I’ve had a lot of weird interactions. A lot of students come in here and chat me up and ask me for advice. I’ve been asked about girls…and boys. Which is actually ironic because when I was in high school I wasn’t really good at that, not that I’m good now, but I’m better

HB: What club would you be in if you went to Harriton?

Mr. Scullin: Well that’s a good question. I would probably write for the newspaper! How do you like that! And I’m not kissing your rear ends either! But in reality I definitely wouldn’t be in Science Olympiad. I never took calculus. Maybe Spanish Club? ¿Yo tengo un lapiz?

HB: How about debate?

Mr. Scullin: You know, I spend my whole life debating. I’ve got three freaking kids. All I do is debate about eating freaking broccoli and going outside to play.

HB: Tell us a crazy story?

Mr. Scullin: You mean like a personal story about my life?

Annika: Well it doesn’t have to get too personal…

Mr. Scullin: I have a lot of crazy stories, a lot of fun ones. Let me think.

Michael Walsh: A student lifted Mr. Bannon up in the air by his necktie!
Mr. Scullin: Well, I’ve never been physically assaulted by a teacher. But one time I met Adam Sandler in College. I hung out with him and we played pool. I almost got into a fight with Eminem once, because he was a punk and he asked to go to the bathroom and he was cursing, it was 1985. Yeah he was a real yucky looking guy.

HB: Is there an alternate profession you could see yourself pursuing?

Mr. Scullin: When I was first growing up I wanted to be an astronomer. It was my first gig. But then I realized that astronomy is just a fancy word for freaking math so

I banged out because I never took a calculus class. Although I love stars, and Saturn and mars. My favorite planet is probably Saturn. But actually I would love to be a radio talk show host.

Micheal Walsh: Nooo. Sports or News?

Mr. Scullin: Anything! Let’s chat it up. I would also like to be a game show host, something where I can interact with other individuals.

Or! I love pizza, I would love to do something with pizza. Maybe trying different types of pizzas. Like a pizza taster. Or a pizza…eater. Something involving a pizza pie. You see in my opinion, as soon as you start adding things to pizza that aren’t gravy or cheese, it gets confusing. Like chicken on pizza is confusing.

Sam: Haven’t you ever had buffalo chicken pizza?

Mr. Scullin: Yes it’s a violation.

Random person in back of the room gasps: Why?!

Mr. Scullin:  It just isn’t right! I don’t agree. I don’t support that.

HB: Do you have a favorite random family tradition?

Mr. Scullin: Well we have a lot of random family traditions. I am really tight with my family, with my Italian heritage. I love my family very much. A couple things we do is, every Thanksgiving we all go around the table and say what we are thankful for. Every time it is someone’s birthday and we have a birthday dinner, everyone has to say something nice about that individual person, something fun. I’m passing these on to my kids because family is really important to me, especially my tumbleweeds, and my wife and my little pup dog, my little wet nose. I like to promote love and being cool to one another, even among my students.

HB: Can you sum up your teaching philosophy in a few sentences?

Mr. Scullin: Abslutely! Look, I’m a history teacher, but I don’t care about those random jeopardy facts. What I try to teach is skills like learning, high level thinking and critical thinking. But that’s not even my primary job. The thing I really try to emphasize is respect and kindness. I really want my room in this school to be a place where kids feel respected and safe and friendly and they know that I got their back and I support them, and that they have a place no matter what. There is a place for at least 60 minutes a day where they can be with somebody who cares about them. I really care about them.

Annika: That’s awesome.

Mr. Scullin: Is it too cheesy?

Emily: It’s cheesy but perfect.

That it is, Mr. Scullin. That it is.