By Ariana Kolenovic, NHS Member

Mr. Castillo has been a great teacher for 7 years, 6 of them at Fair Lawn High School. He has taught many subjects in the past like Geometry, NJSLS Prep Algebra, PFL Course, and some Geometry Prep. This year Mr. Castillo is teaching Algebra 1, Geometry, and NJSLS Prep Algebra. 

At first, Mr. Castillo majored in accounting.  He took a few accounting courses but “it never felt right to him.” During the same time he started to tutor in math for other fellow college students and found his passion for helping stressed out students. Mr.Castillo found his lifelong love of teaching and making a difference in students' lives. I had Mr.Castillo for my sophomore year in Algebra and he is a fantastic teacher. In my experience, Mr.Castillo is great at teaching and making the students understand things thoroughly. Mr.Castillo is a great example of someone who loves doing their job no matter the stress. He gave us great activities to do in groups or as a whole class together. 

Also Mr.Castillo is great at remembering student’s names. He even creates a survey to get to learn about the students and provide personalized help to them. This great teaching shows in the students' attitudes and makes for great days of school. Mr.Castillo excitedly said, “Hearing from students at different points throughout the year say “thank you” or talk about how they feel like they learned something and grew in your class, that is the most satisfying part of teaching.” 

I can tell from having him as a teacher that I grew as a student from being horrible at geometry to being great at it (P.S. I’m more of an Algebra person). Mr.Castillo is involved in the school too; he loves to watch sports and other activities. His favorite sport is baseball and loves watching the games. He also loves to watch Masques, even the one from last year during the pandemic. In Mr.Castillo’s lovely words, “They always do a great job!” Mr.Castillo is really in tune with the new generation and the technology but according to him, “ … tik tok is difficult for me to relate to.”

Overall, Mr.Castillo is a fantastic teacher and having him as a teacher,  I have great appreciation for his skills, help, and hard work.