Ed Kavanaugh always wanted to be a teacher, and it obviously was the right career choice for him if the opinions of his students are any indication. “He actually makes calculus fun. Mr. Kavanaugh was a very helpful and patient instructor. Awesome teacher!!! Take him for any class you can,” are just some of the recent comments one will hear from his students or will find on Web sites like RateMyProfessor.com.

Ed came to Schoolcraft in 1982, after spending his first three years after graduating from the University of Michigan working as a Systems Engineer at IBM and another three years teaching at Madonna University. “When I got out of school, there just weren’t any teaching jobs available. But working at IBM was a valuable learning experience for me,” he recently shared. “While I learned a lot from a professional perspective, what was probably the most valuable life lesson came the day I went to IBM and was told to come back the next day with a haircut and white shirt and tie and then they would interview me. It was pretty obvious to me then that eventually I’d need to be in a new environment and follow my passion.”

When he was told he had been selected as a NISOD winner, he was very surprised and honored to be included with the distinguished group of past winners, the group he refers to as “The Legends.” When asked what he believes makes him and exceptional instructor, he humbly attributes his success to a love for working with students; his desire to make the subject interesting and fun and keep things light. As he reminds his students at the start of class everyday, “There is no such thing as a dumb question.” It may be cliché, but for Ed Kavanaugh and his students, it works.

Each year for the annual national NISOD conference, the winners are asked to write a 50-word statement about themselves. Here is what Ed Kavanaugh wrote about himself:

What keeps me going is how much fun I have at my job!  I keep the atmosphere light and enjoyable for the students. My career summary:
   There was a teacher from S’craft
   Who taught math so much he went daft.
   He reached the apathetic masses
   In algebra and calculus classes
   And when he was done he just laughed!