This school year, Joseph Seidel joined Townsend Harris High School as a history teacher, specifically teaching AP US History to juniors and seniors. 

Mr. Seidel previously taught at Evander Childs Educational Campus, a smaller school compared to THHS. At this school, he was a founding member, being the head and first teacher of the social studies department. Throughout these years teaching, he gained a lot of experience in this field. When asked what made him want to teach at Townsend Harris, he said, “With the first eighteen years of my career, it took me a while to become the good teacher that I was. I felt that if I could succeed here, I would prove to myself that I’m a good teacher.” 

Mr. Seidel first got inspiration to teach from his father, who was also a teacher. Despite this, prior to the decision of going into education, Mr. Seidel had an interest in marine biology. He attended Queens College to pursue his original dream, but then made the switch to teaching history instead. “I fell in love with labor studies and sciences, which pulled me away from the STEM aspect and pushed me towards humanities,” said Mr. Seidel.

Students who have Mr. Seidel praised his class and teaching style. 

“He is a great teacher who not only makes his class engaging but knowledgeable as well,” said junior Alishya Loyd. “I am happy to be in the class because I believe I will be able to retain appropriate knowledge of APUSH that will assist me immensely in the AP exam and the class itself.” 

“I think Mr. Seidel is an amazing teacher who is always considerate towards his students and always tries his best to accommodate us. I think he is a teacher who cares greatly about his students,” junior Winnie Cheng said.