In his classroom, the buzz of students fills the air as math teacher Joshua Millstein, dressed up as a fish, guides them through the day’s lesson: learning factoring by “fishing” for paper fish with equations on them in a kiddie pool. But as the school bell rings, signaling the end of class, his day shifts. The whiteboard is wiped clean of quadratics, and the costume is taken off as he steps into his role as the girls’ basketball coach. Whether teaching equations or coaching athletes, Mr. Millstein says his approach is the same: blending creativity, energy, and a passion for both sports and academics.

“I always had a policy that if I’m bored, the kids are really bored,” Mr. Millstein said. “I try to make it not just like, ‘sit down, here’s notes, here’s practice,’ because that’s how my math teachers worked. I know they say practice makes perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect.”

Teaching

Despite his current experience of 15 years as an educator, Mr. Millstein wasn’t always attracted to teaching. Growing up, his attention was directed towards sports. He spent his free time practicing with his father and playing basketball, baseball, tennis, volleyball, and football for one year until a linebacker “took (him) out one practice.”

“I got (my interest in sports) from my dad,” Mr. Millstein said. “My dad played professional basketball in Europe. He was my coach as a kid, so I got that ‘sports bug’ early from him.”

It wasn’t until after years of coaching both nationally and internationally in Sweden that Mr. Millstein began to consider expanding his interest in helping students from an athletic to an academic perspective. His friends, who were also teachers, helped him through the process of becoming one. Math teacher Craig Adams was one person who helped him secure a position at this school.

“His [wife] at the time was a friend of mine (and that is how I met him),” Mr. Adams said. “I found out that he was a math teacher at Okeeheelee Middle, and then I found out we needed a math teacher here. I said, ‘You know what? You should apply.’ I hadn’t seen him teach before, and then he taught one of the first lessons I had seen him teach here, which was factoring with fish. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this guy’s great.’”

Mr. Millstein attempts to merge sports and academics together, creating assignments and class activities that combine math with games to allow his students to learn hands-on with materials other than written or online assignments. 

“I like outdoor activities a lot,” Mr. Millstein said. “Just last week, we were doing frisbee outside. I try to integrate sports as much as I can (to stay) active and creative. I like to change things up all the time (and) try new things, like this year when I did a glow party, which I’ve never done before. I’ve been teaching for many years, and I’m always looking for new things to do.”

Besides his ability to arrange interactive lessons, some students of his, such as theatre sophomore Jathan Georges, also hold his abilities to “take things slow and (make things) easy to comprehend” and “to make (students) laugh” in high regard.

“He teaches in a way that’s helpful for us (students) and him at the same time,” Georges said. “We have fun in his class, he’s really nice, (and) he’s cool. He knows how to interact with the students, and I didn’t really get that treatment last year.”

Mr. Millstein’s impact on students is “one of the most rewarding things” in his life and teaching career. Throughout the many years he has spent as an educator, one of his goals has been to help his students grow comfortable with their math skills and implement what they learn from him into a wider application. 

“Kids I taught, like 14 years ago, will see me at Publix or Home Depot,” Mr. Millstein said. “Good thing is that I look kind of the same, (and) they will come (up to me), or they’ll email me if they’re in college now and just say, ‘Oh, I just want to thank you for helping me think math isn’t that bad.’”

Coaching

In his downtime from class, Mr. Millstein balances his duties as a coach and teacher to find an even amount of time to attend to his responsibilities, such as lesson planning, grading, and organizing basketball-related events, such as the teams’ trip to an FAU Women’s Basketball game together. For him, maintaining a set schedule is crucial. 

“Time management is key because during the (basketball) season, especially girls basketball, I’m leaving home at 7 a.m., coming home at like 8 p.m., for a lot of the game stuff,” Mr. Millstein said. “So you have to definitely pace yourself at school and definitely plan weeks ahead because otherwise you’re just not going to have anything done.”

As the girls basketball coach, Mr. Millstein says he hopes to strengthen the team, attempting to “get better at teaching every year and build the girls basketball program.” One of the ways he accomplishes these goals is by encouraging players to interact with their peers outside of regulated team time to encourage bonding, “having seen the connections made with the different grade levels, where freshmen are friends with seniors.” 

“Mr. Millstein has always been a big advocate of communication and has always told us players to text each other,” girls basketball team member and band junior Summer Irwin said. “Whether that be about rides for an upcoming game or even just random life updates, we all share with each other. Just continuously talking to one another about basketball has really helped us grow a connection with each other and get to know one another which helps team bonding and our chemistry on the court.”

For Mr. Millstein, his guidance of the team expands beyond game plans and into ensuring his players have a consistent amount of time and access to practicing their skills. Besides the regulated days during basketball season on which they are expected to practice, he encourages students to take personal time for themselves to hone their technical skills. 

“The sports (here) are so different (from) other high schools because the kids have so many things happening,” Mr. Millstein said. “(For example), during our girls basketball season is Prism, so we lose about half the team for rehearsals and things like that. I wish we would have a class for the athletes about time management and balance. The teachers are stressed out and coaches are stressed out, but the kids are doing even more outside of class.”

As Mr. Millstein continues to coach basketball and teach math, he hopes that besides technical skills, current and future students will learn the value of persistence and determination from their time with him, using it to motivate themselves whether in games or in class. 

“Never give up. There’s no pressure if you get it wrong,” Mr. Millstein said. “You could fail in (basketball) practice or when you’re practicing math. You can (fail), and there always is a way to make it up and learn from what you did wrong.”