by Zihan Lin
Chemistry teacher James Huffman walks behind his desk, capturing everyone’s attention with his voice. He flips through the slides on the board until he stops at a conversion equation; the students focus on him, waiting expectantly for him to demonstrate how to convert the units.
For Huffman, problems like these are more than just a chemistry lesson. He enjoys working through problems himself, but he also enjoys helping others find their way through difficult questions.
“Yeah! I like solving problems, and I like to help other people solve problems, specifically in chemistry but life in general,” Huffman said.
His approach to problem-solving is something his students notice in the classroom. Rather than just giving students an answer, he encourages them to understand how to arrive at it step by step.
“He taught us to remember formulas and learn how to do problems by putting them into steps,” junior Danna Lopez, a former student, stated.
Junior Rachel Santos also remarked that Huffman encourages students to approach difficult problems in different ways, especially when working with stoichiometry or other smaller subjects where they can’t seem to grasp the idea.
“He taught us to break down problems and try different methods, especially with stoichiometry,” Santos said.
Being a teacher isn’t what he always wanted; it wasn’t his first goal. Being an engineer was his first goal, but he wanted his life to revolve around helping people, no matter the problem.
“I would probably be an engineer. That was my first goal as a student, or I would be going the exact opposite, like I do now and be a social worker, like helping people with their problems, like life, versus solving problems as an engineer, which you know is much different.”
Although engineering was once Huffman’s goal, his interest in chemistry led him towards working with chemicals rather than engines. His experiences in his chemistry class, particularly the hands-on labs, helped him realize what he enjoyed most about the subject.
“Had an awesome teacher; I loved the labs. I loved being able to prove something with chemicals. I wasn’t as much—I don’t like to work on engines. I like to work with individual chemicals. I found that out from my chemistry teacher from high school,” he said.
His high school teacher not only helped shape his interest in chemistry, but also influenced the way he approaches teaching with his own students.
“I would say mostly due to the awesome teachers I had as a student. I had some really good teachers, and because of those good teachers. I want to do the same thing as they did.”
In Huffman’s classroom, every problem has a solution—and sometimes, the solution is simply to keep trying.
“Remember (Chem)(Is)(Try),” he said.
