Mr. George Gandy, one of Fort Hamilton’s newest social studies teachers, has been a New York City public school teacher for over three years now. In his early years after graduating from high school, he actually had no plans in mind. At first, Mr. Gandy thought about going to trade school, but his father convinced him to go to college and get a degree, saying, “I didn’t leave Egypt for you to be a plumber.” This gave him the opportunity to start a new life and choose the path that he wanted to take.
Entering Hunter College, Mr. Gandy didn’t have a set plan of what he wanted his major to be. He tried out different classes, including earth science. The class ended up being challenging for him; he decided to look at his high school transcript and noticed that the highest grades he got were in history. He declared a major in history with a minor in English – his other strongest subject – and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 2020.
Following graduation, Mr. Gandy wanted to work as a substitute teacher in social studies while he got his master’s degree and teaching license. He went to different schools to try to secure a substitute position in that specific field, but it didn’t go the way he had anticipated, as the only available substitute positions were in English. Since Mr. Gandy had no other choice, he took the opportunity. He taught one year of English at a middle school in Manhattan and, starting in the fall of 2021, two years at Fort Hamilton High School. This year, Mr. Gandy was appointed as a full-time teacher to the social studies department at Fort Hamilton.
In every part of Mr. Gandy’s journey, he faced something different, met new people, and learned new lessons. Throughout his teaching experience, he thought about the two professors that he encountered while he was in college. They displayed qualities of what he wanted to show to his students — compassion and understanding. When he was in the toughest moments of his life, his two professors were the ones who reached out to him.
This empathy inspired Mr. Gandy’s teaching philosophy. He wants his students to learn to strike a balance between self-care and sturdy work ethic.
“Take care of your mental health, but remember to take care of your work too,” Mr. Gandy advised.
