Bart Polster

After graduating high school in Deer Park, I already knew that I wanted to share my passion for history with as many people as I could. I enrolled in Stony Brook University where I got my BA in History and my MAT in Social Studies Education. Stony Brook's programs are some of the best in the world (of course, I'm biased) and I truly feel that SBU gave me the chance to become an excellent teacher. My BA in History gave me plenty of opportunities to engage in History at the collegiate academic level, culminating in a capstone paper that I am proud of to this day on Medieval/Early Modern Disability in Southern Germany. My MAT brought me to the world of public (as in taught to a general audience) history and making history important to students who may come into the classroom wanting nothing to do with it. My goal as a teacher is to give students both study skills and test-taking strategies to excel at not only academic content but standardized testing as well. The SAT and ACT are tests that can give students the confidence they need to excel. Tutoring students on the SAT and ACT provides them with the skills needed to feel confident in college and beyond. I also seek to meet students where they're at, ensuring they are in an environment where they feel comfortable and can learn without distraction. When I'm not engaging in teaching of any sort, I like to discuss filmmaking with my friends, or help out on their film shoots. I love the filmmaking process and I'm particularly drawn to the post-production/editing side of things. One day I hope to be on a real film set!