If you walked in the math hallway the past month (and who hasn’t?) you will have noticed one thing: math teacher Darlene Kohn has been absent.

This absence is due to an injury she suffered in October. Kohn had a fall in her home, causing her to fracture a vertebrae in her neck.

Her long term substitute, Plainwell graduate Ryan Beauregard, has loved the challenge of being in Kohn’s place for a majority of the first trimester. But it has not been all sunshine and rainbows.

“I think the hardest part of teaching is combining math and then trying to make it entertaining for the students,” Beauregard said.

Beauregard loves this opportunity to teach because he is looking to become a full-time teacher soon after this school year.

“He is learning to become a good teacher,” Xavier Sao ‘22 said.

Sao thinks he will be an even better teacher after he gets this experience substituting for Kohn.

“I think the easiest and best thing about being a teacher is having the opportunity to work with different students and other teachers at the school,” Beauregard said.

Kohn is expected to be back at the start of second trimester. She wanted to come back to teach earlier, but her doctor did not permit her to do so. 

“I have really miss the daily interaction with students and faculty. Those interactions are the best way to keep learning,” Kohn said.

Kohn is eager to get back and start teaching again, as she has missed almost the entire first trimester.

“I love helping students learn. Although I teach the same subject every year, there is always something more to learn. I wish that I could connect math in such a way that everyone could understand,” Kohn said.