Oakdale High School is filled with many teachers, but these new teachers bring something new and exciting to OHS. One teacher that is already well liked by most of his students is Mr. Alvin Matute. He came into Oakdale for the first time in the Spring semester of the 2021-2022 school year just as a long term sub for another teacher. Over the summer, he decided that he wanted to work at Oakdale for a full-time teaching position.

Matute is very interested in helping students understand math and creating a good relationship with his students. What made Matute want to become a teacher? Matute stated, “ I struggled through math going through school and I know how difficult it can be, so I wanted to help students understand it better.”

Before he worked at Oakdale, he worked at the Aspen Institute. Matute also spoke on what made him want to work at Oakdale: “I was inspired by other teachers to start teaching.” He adds, “I enjoy the environment/culture of this school and I enjoy working with the students”.

This is what makes the students even enjoy him more. “He was always playing music during class and made the lessons that he would teach a lot more interactive,” voice Annabelle Guss, sophomore.

Another student, Freshman Chelsea Pass, that is currently in Mr. Matute’s math class, stated about why she enjoys the class, “the group assignments because they are a lot more helpful to hear another student explain the problem to you if you don’t understand it the way Mr. Matute was explaining it.”

The students already enjoy Mr. Matute, but what exactly do they enjoy about him? Pass spoke, “I have enjoyed his class mostly because he makes it easy to learn. Usually it is difficult for me to completely understand math concepts.”

She also adds on, “Mr. Matute spends time helping not only the class as a whole, but also me individually when I don’t understand certain topics.”

Guss, a past student of Matute’s Geometry class: “He made math easier to understand and less stressful. He also explained everything slowly and broke it down so you could learn in pieces which was a big help for me.”

Pass comments, “I have enjoyed Mr. Matute as a teacher very much. He is also very good at helping to solve problems in an understandable way.”

Guss commented, “He was probably one of the best math teachers I ever had. He was very friendly and always smiled at you when you’d walk in.”

Overall, Mr. Matute is a well-liked teacher by his students.