Faculty Feature | Tim Fitzmaurice

Name: Tim Fitzmaurice P'34
Current role & department: Upper School English Faculty, Director of the Writing Center
Year you started at Albany Academy: 2011
Alma mater(s) and degrees: University of New Hampshire (MA), Saint Michael’s College (BA)

What inspired you to become a teacher?

"I was actually encouraged NOT to become a teacher by both my father (an educator) and my teaching role model at LaSalle Institute. I went to UNH to pursue a Ph.D. and found myself as a TA in the Masters program first. My first semester was teaching First-Year Composition at 8 a.m. three times a week. It was brutal, for the most part, but about halfway through the semester, the class clicked during a discussion. I walked out literally thinking 'I can’t believe I just got paid (barely) to do that.'” 

What strategies do you use to spark student engagement and creativity in your classroom?

"A few:

Trying new things. Every year I come up with about a half dozen to a dozen new ideas to try and all my students know that they’re part of something that hasn’t happened before. 

Stay realistic. I never approach English or writing as if everyone is going to be an English major (the economy can’t take that kind of hit). Instead, I focus on the power of ideas and the need to craft their expression. 

A dash of stand-up poetry. Comedians are famous for getting at human tendencies and interweaving connections through language. Poetry does the same. When students get a sense that they’re getting a look behind the curtain, they tend to show up." 

Is there a particular lesson or project that you especially love to teach? What makes it meaningful for you and your students? 

"Aside from the Writing Center, which is easily the best thing I’ve ever done in my career, I do love my version of Shark Tank. Students research and advocate for nonprofit organizations in pitches to a 'shark' benefactor. It puts all the information and skills in very 'real' terms. Students get the knowledge about the organization, of course, but, because they had to utilize that knowledge, they carry it with them without even realizing it." 

What is a fun or unexpected fact about you?

"Not sure how fun it is, but I build furniture in my spare time. Also, I once worked the overnight shift as an emergency dispatcher."

Favorite movie?

"Movie: The Big Lebowski; Book: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison."

What's your favorite Albany Academy tradition? 

"Despite the eye rolling from the kids, declamations is one of the most authentic, wide-open opportunities for student thinking and expression we have."

How do you see students growing or evolving during their time at Academy?

"I’ve always framed it that, here, students start to take themselves more seriously and, consequently, start to see they are capable of real, meaningful achievements previously seen as unreachable." 

What’s something you’re especially proud of in your career?

"To be honest, I've received some awards for teaching, program design, and civic engagement in my time, but whenever I overhear my Writing Center tutors or my students help one another with precision, expertise, and confidence, I carry that with me for days on end. I’ve met and worked with people from plenty of other schools and Writing Centers and I can say with certainty: we do things better."