Daniel Treat is a ninth-grade geography teacher.

Question: What was your first impression of Kerr?

Answer: That’s tough because I worked here for a long time before I ever actually set foot in the building, or ever actually meet anybody because I started working here… I got hired in the spring of 2020 and started in August of 2020, so I worked here for months without ever actually having to meet anyone or even set foot in the building. So it’s weird. 

Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?

A: Probably playing all the sports that I was allowed to play like my parents were real cool about like, giving up their weekends to watch me play basketball or baseball or soccer when I was little and I really appreciate that as an adult now.

Q: What was an embarrassing teaching moment you’re willing to share?

A: The one time I was still teaching at Hastings, two kids were about to fight in one of my classrooms and I went sprinting across the room, and instead of breaking up the fight, I tripped over a chair and literally did a front flip. I did a front flip over a chair and landed directly on both of my knees and massive bruises all over myself for a good month. But the two kids that were in a fight started laughing with me and did not fight, so I guess the severe embarrassment was worth it ultimately, but it was both embarrassing and painful. 

Q: Is there a quote or saying you live your life by?

A: There’s a one I like from Pat Tillman, who played in the NFL, but then after 9/11, he quit to join the armed forces to fight against terrorism and he had a quote that was, “If we’re not getting better we’re old news.” So pretty much if you’re not trying to improve yourself, you just end up standing in a certain place. It’s about continuous improvement, which is something that’s important to me because I’m somebody who can get complacent from time to time [and] just kind of be happy with where I’m at. And that kind of helps point me in the right direction.

Q: What’s your worst memory you had of a student?

A: Um, honestly, the thing that always bothers me is when I care more about a student being successful than they do. It’s like, I already graduated from high school. I already went to college, [and] I’ve already accomplished these things that you’re supposed to be trying to accomplish. And when I’m more interested in that than you are, that’s the thing that really gets me fired up more than anything else. 

Q: If you could grow up in any decade, which would you choose?

A: I’m gonna stick with where I was because like, growing up mostly in the 90s, we were kind of on the edge where we had technology but technology had not completely taken over our lives as it has now. We had the conveniences that y’all are used to, but we didn’t have a phone that had everything, and just like the social media things had not completely overwhelmed every aspect of our lives. So we had it good but it didn’t control us yet.

Q: If you are not teaching history right now, what would you teach?

A: Oh, I mean, I have a journalism degree originally, so I guess I can teach journalism and reporting. That’s where I’d be most likely. 

Q: What type of animal would you be and why?

A: I would be an alligator. They’re carnivores and still get to eat meat. They swim a lot but spend most of their day just hanging out in the sun and chilling. They’re also kind of like the top predator for the most part in an area so nothing’s gonna mess with you. That seems like a fun existence. 

Q: What song best represents how your class is like?

A: God, I don’t even know how to answer that question. “A Little Bit of this, and a Litlle Bit of That.” I mean, I don’t have a good answer to that question.

Q: What were you like when you went to school?

A: Um, I was a good student, but I wasn’t a great student by any stretch of the imagination. I was like a mixed AB student. So I was definitely not an overachiever, and I wasn’t the hardest worker. I was one of the people that [was] like, as long as I did enough to get a solid grade, I was satisfied with that. Looking back on it, I wish I tried harder because like, I mean, I didn’t do poorly by any means, but I could have done better than I did. Socially, I was kind of one of those kids who kind of just floated in the middle. Like I had a few groups of friends, and I didn’t have anybody who I was like enemies with, and I didn’t have like a huge group I was overly close with, so I was kind of just there. And like, I’m extremely shy and somewhat socially awkward, so trying to talk to new people was like a punishment worse than death for me, so that made high school hard. I wasn’t picked on or anything like that, but I wasn’t the person who’s out in front of everybody either.