St. Anthony Middle School is excited to welcome Mr. Will Harren, our new seventh-grade science teacher! Mr. Harren is beginning his fifth year in the classroom with us, previously teaching and paraeducating at charter schools and Northeast Middle School. 

Before becoming a teacher, Mr. Harren worked in IT and quickly realized he wanted to be in a career that connected him to people and made a difference. “Sitting behind a desk wasn’t for me,” he said with a laugh.

Mr. Harren credits his own science teachers—his high school geology teacher, Mr. Kapsner, and his biology professor, Mr. Eichinger—for inspiring him to teach. 

“They made class exciting, they built relationships, and they weren’t afraid to be weird,” Mr. Harren said.  “Mr. Kapsner would hop on a desk just to capture the class’s attention,” Mr. Harren recalled fondly. Mr. Kapsner sparked Mr. Harren’s love for rocks. “I’m a big rock guy,” he said. 

Mr. Eichinger took the time to just get to know a young Will as they drove to the Boundary Waters one college winter. “It was so easy to have a conversation with him. Mr. Eichinger's teaching style really helped me, and I think that's my style of teaching, which is building relationships. You get to know these people on so many different levels, whether it's knowing their interests, their hobbies, their music tastes, what they love to do. And that's the real launching point to, you know, building a strong classroom.” 

During the first week of school, Mr. Harren had his students create “About Me” slides to serve as a launching point, helping them feel comfortable with their interests and the person they’re becoming.

“Seventh grade in particular, being weird is a bad thing,” Mr. Harren said. “Me being positively weird in a classroom and showing a lot of enthusiasm for what the kids love to do is a great way to say, 'Yeah, it’s okay to like what you like.’ They can really reflect on why they enjoy something too, which I think is important as well.”

Mr. Harren also has a special connection to SANB. “I did a two week student teaching thing here with Ms. Schwintek, and this was four years ago, when I first started to get into teaching. And it was just a very welcoming place. The kids I got to know during that time were full of energy. They were so welcoming. It just felt like SANB was a special place.”

His two favorite lessons include matter, energy, and ecosystems, as well as the biodiversity of ecosystems. Outside of school, Mr. Harren and his wife have cultivated a prairie in their own backyard, a project he plans to bring into the classroom by having students plant seeds and study ecosystems. 

As he steps into his first year with SANB, Mr. Harren brings a dedicated delightfulness. “I try to approach every day with a smile. I think that’s very contagious,” he said.