By Taylor Conley

If you’ve ever taken an NWEA test, student survey, or frankly anything requiring technical assistance, you have most likely heard of Mr. Moriarty. He usually helps with testing and computer support – at least, until the second semester began. Mr. Moriarty is now working as a temporary teacher for 8th grade U.S. History, 3rd and 7th periods.

Mr. Moriarty will be assisting TPA until May. Although he still provides technical assistance in the computer lab, he also started helping 6th graders with math during their homeroom class. Over the summer, Mr. Moriarty provided a summer school class called “Math Puzzles.”

He used to create instructional videos with which he competed with Lynda.com, now a fairly large corporation. His instruction videos took about two days to film, edit, and release. Lynda.com succeeded because they had different professionals providing instructions, while Mr. Moriarty had just himself.

Mr. Moriarty has gained a variety of insights through teaching at TPA. Most importantly, he has noticed that students get to learn patience and self-control at TPA, unlike other schools.

Mr. Moriarty has had countess different occupations. These include manufacturing at Revlon, a cosmetic and fragrance company, working as a database constructor; a computer instructor at New Horizons; and a product developer.

Mr. Moriarty said that the effort people go to to make things better is strong at TPA. When asked what his favorite thing about TPA is, Mr. Moriarty says: “The students are willing to work and try difficult things. Even if they fail, they keep on.”

In his early years, Mr. Moriarty taught and learned at colleges like University of Texas, Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Notre Dame, Thomas Edison State University, and a university in France. He got his degree is math, chemistry, physics, and psychology. He has taught thousands of adults and hundreds of children at different schools throughout his career.

Mr. Moriarty first became interested in science when he read science fiction books as a kid. He likes math because you get graded on getting the right answer, no matter how one finds it. Mr. Moriarty is also interested in product development, making complex systems simple, and he also does a bit of gardening.

The TPA community is so grateful for Mr. Moriarty’s assistance.