An Interview with Dr. Noble

Previously published Oct. 29. 2020

Q: Please introduce yourself to the BISV students!

A: Hello! I’m Dr. Noble. This is my 4th year with BASIS Curriculum Schools, but the second year at BISV. I teach physics, and at this point, I have taught all the courses the school offers except Physics 2. I got my Ph.D. in relativistic atomic physics and wrote a 293-page dissertation. I also run a video game club, and last year, I worked with Mr. Adams in a robotics club. I like to play video games, and I like to read, with my favorite book being Hitchhiker’s Guide. I like to play board games, and I’m a big fan of Star Wars.

Q: What made you want to teach?

A: I’ve always been interested in teaching. When I was in high school, I alternated between my choice of becoming a truck driver or teaching. Truck driving sounded fun, especially driving around the United States, but at the same time, teaching just sounded better to me. I thought about becoming a professor and teaching at a university level. However, you had to do research to do that, and while doing research, I decided I would rather do more of the teaching part of it. Then, I got the opportunity to teach at a high school. My mother was a teacher, my grandmother was a teacher, and I come from a long line of teachers.

Q: How do you balance your teaching life and your social life?

A: Well, it’s a lot harder right now. Normally, my rule is I don’t do work at home. It’s not really an option anymore, so, how do I do it now? Do you have a social life right now? It’s the sort of mentality where I put in work in the week, and keep the weekends as work-free as possible. At this point, it has become keeping Saturday as work-free as possible. Every Saturday, I video call my friends on the East Coast to play Dungeons and

Dragons. My wife Kate is our dungeon master.

Q: Why Physics?

A: Why Physics? Because it’s the most fun! OK realistically, in my first physics class in high school, I thought it was interesting. When I went into college, we had a random person to help us figure out which first classes we would take. I already had credit for Calculus 1 and 2, and they suggested I take Calculus 3 and Physics since Calculus was a prerequisite for that. In the summer, it was much easier to get a physics job than a job at math. The more I studied physics, the more I got into it. It wasn’t something I was good at, but it was something I worked for. Physics is hard.

Q: What is the best part about teaching physics at BISV?

A: The students. That’s my favorite part of BISV. Part of my introduction in class was that I used to work at a school in Philly. I didn’t like it. A lot of it was managing them and trying to get them interested in the subject. Students here seem to be interested in physics. I like students who seem interested in what I have to say.

AAA: Is that it? There are no more questions? We totally missed the part where I lived in Africa, or that I was chased by a hippo… but that’s fine. I can also solve a Rubik’s cube.