Math can be a challenging subject for some, but for math teacher Joseph Puricelli, it gave him career direction from an early point in life.
“I was really inspired by the teachers I had in middle and high school here in St. Louis,” says Joseph. “In high school, I found myself enjoying supporting my classmates and explaining concepts to them. Teaching math always felt right to me.”
Joseph reaches students across the Upper School, teaching Geometry, Honors Geometry, Precalculus, and College Algebra. He was drawn to Crossroads because of the school’s size, the collaborative nature of the faculty, and the community among students. “Students didn’t seem afraid to approach teachers for help, but they still respect and appreciate the educational atmosphere and the expertise of the faculty. It was very positive and uplifting.”
And while math can hold the stigma of rote memorization, computations, and repetition, Joseph wants to impart to students an emphasis on logical reasoning and creative problem solving. “Math is just logic applied to numerical situations,” he explains. “When I can encourage students to think creatively about what would normally be cut and dry situations, then I’m succeeding.”
Outside of the classroom, Joseph lives in Lemay and enjoys spending time with his wife, writing, playing games, and seeing live music and theater.