For 30 years, Dr. Marc Isseks has served as a teacher, staff developer, content specialist, and building administrator in New York City and Long Island, NY. A third-generation educator, Marc believes in the power of learning to engage,  inspire, inform, and transform young people so they can become the best versions of themselves. Marc co-hosts the State of Ed Podcast, is the author of 2 books: Forward Fast and Captivate, and is a self-proclaimed Educational Pyromaniac. 

 

Your WHY

To ensure that every young person receives a high-quality, inspirational, and transformational education – the most powerful artillery known to humankind. 



Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up? What was it like when you were a student? 

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and received an incredible public school education from half-day pre-K through high school. Coming from a family of educators (both parents and maternal grandparents), nearly every soul who entered my childhood home worked in a school building. (One woman’s husband was an attorney, and another married a judge. That was it.) 

My mother was a union rep, and my father was an assistant principal. There were always adults who knew my parents were looking out for me in every school I attended. This meant that slacking off or cutting class was NEVER going to fly. At the time, I didn’t perceive those as benefits. The only advantage worth anything was that my dad used to work with Tony, the custodian at my elementary school, P.S. 197. So, when I would go with friends to the schoolyard to play stickball – and our one-and-only ball was inevitably hit onto the roof – I would push the buzzer on the wrought iron gate, and Tony would run up and toss down every single ball. Then he’d call down in his Irish brogue, “Tell your dah oy say hoy!”

Of all my schooling experiences, the years I spent at Edward R. Murrow High School were the most special because of how progressive it was. With a communication arts focus, inspired by the renowned newsman for whom the building was named, students were given unparalleled autonomy to develop their independence, pursue a wide variety of academic objectives, and think critically. With flexible scheduling and optional time built into student programming, I found tremendous value in the education I was blessed to have an army of teachers who challenged me. We didn’t have competitive varsity sports, but we had a state-of-the-art theater, a nationally ranked chess team, and a planetarium. It was unlike any experience my non-Murrow peers were receiving.

Why did you become a teacher? Who impacted you and believed in you?

As I mentioned, teaching was the “family business,” which is why I swore I would never work in a school. So, while I figured out how to break into Wall Street, Hollywood, and law, my father suggested I do a little substitute teaching to bring in a few dollars. I guess I have weak sales resistance… 

My parents believed in my abilities and encouraged me to get the necessary credits for licensure. After two years of long-term subbing/leave replacements, I received my first full-time position teaching middle school math (with some science and music appreciation thrown in, even though my license was in social studies – welco...