Toiler Times Reporter Kate Gallegos sat down for a quick interview with history teacher Joshua Dorrough. Check out some of the highlights from their conversation below.

Where are you from?

Huntington Beach, California.

Where did you go to college and what was your major?

California State University, Long Beach

Major: History

What made you become a teacher? What motivated you?

After I got my college degree, I got into business for about four years and I decided that I really didn’t like doing that and so I went back and got my teaching credential. I became a teacher because I thought I would be more productive – better for society. While I was working in business I was making money, but it was really not doing things that were more helpful to American Society. So, by going into teaching, I thought I would contribute to American Society, make it better by educating people.

What are some challenges you face as a teacher?

Different people have different ideas about what should be taught and how it should be taught. One of the challenges is to try to navigate through all of those different hurdles, all of those different opinions. That’s probably the biggest challenge right now.

What do you believe are you strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?

My strengths are my command of the audience and my depth of knowledge, things that I understand. Weakness would be the inability to sometimes relate to students.