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THINK

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

On Bus driving,

sailing the world,

and finance

 A Conversation with Dr. DeLo

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YEHUDA ZILBERSTEIN('23)

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One teacher who is a genuine addition to the inspirational and outstanding faculty here at Avenues Online is Dr. Dirk DeLo. He is the epitome of the Avenues teaching model; however, did you know that Dr. DeLo currently resides on a boat? Or that he was the first-ever technology hire at Avenues? Join me on this journey as we dig a little deeper into the life, mind, and career of AON’s very own Dr. DeLo. 

YZ: Where did you grow up? Where did you go to college?

 

Dr. DeLo: I was born in Washington, D.C. At the age of four, I moved with my family to California, and I lived there until I was fourteen. Then, I moved to Connecticut, where my family was originally from. After high school, I attended Amherst College, where I was a double major in mathematics and English. After earning two bachelor’s degrees, I attended Columbia University to earn a master’s degree in mathematics, a master’s degree in education, and a doctorate in mathematics. 

 

YZ: Did you always want to become a math teacher or was it something you discovered later in your life?

 

Dr. DeLo: From the time I was in high school, I knew that I wanted to become a teacher. Originally, my passion was to be an English teacher. My first job was teaching English and math at my former high school in Connecticut. It was interesting how my former teachers became my new colleagues and how I began calling them by their first names. Next, I took a teaching position at an international boarding school in Switzerland. After working abroad, I returned and worked at several different private schools in Connecticut as a teacher and technology director. 

 

In 2011, I joined Avenues: The World School as the chief technology officer. I was the first technology hire. I was responsible for building the technology program and department to support Avenues students and teachers because learning required more technological solutions. I did this first for the Avenues New York campus, the São Paulo campus, and the Beijing campus which never opened. 

 

In January 2018, I joined Avenues Online as a curriculum developer. Once at Avenues Online, I began teaching math again. I found it much more enjoyable to teach math than to run all the technology. I especially enjoy the eighth-grade Integrated Math 1 course. During this course, students learn how to become independent learners, which I love to see. 

 

YZ: What is something no Avenues student knows about you?

 

Dr. DeLo: I was actually a bus driver in college. I worked a lot of campus jobs during my time at Amherst College, but being a bus driver was probably the most interesting one. Amherst College is a member of the Five College Consortium (which includes Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst), which offered free shuttle service for the students among the campuses. I usually took the weekend shifts. Because no one wants to work on weekends, drivers were paid the most money for these shifts. Driving a bus made me appreciate my studies because I realized that I did not want to be a bus driver long term. No offense to bus drivers, but their job is especially hard and stressful. 

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YZ: Do you have any hobbies? 

 

Dr. DeLo: My hobbies are any type of outdoor activity. I still love to play squash and beach volleyball. I love to scull or row. And I am an avid kiteboarder. It’s always fun to go out on the water and kiteboard. However, it is a little scary. I’ve learned how to start my jumps, but my landings are one out of ten. So, it’s still a little painful. ​​

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YZ: What does a life traveling the world entail? 

 

Dr. DeLo: Well, aboard my sailboat, I travel in the Caribbean and along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. However, for Avenues, I traveled to the Middle East, Europe, China, Brazil, even Singapore. When you travel the world, you get to see different cultures, meet new people, see new things. The tricky part is figuring out how you can fit into these cultures. For example, when I went to Beijing, I spent time learning the subway system, meeting locals, looking for the real Beijing, not the fake tourist destinations. When you’re traveling, try to find authentic experiences, not just the tourist traps. 

 

YZ: After having to use many different currencies in your travels, do you think the world should have one united form of currency? How has dealing with multiple currencies affected your life?

 

Dr. DeLo: No, I don’t think the world could have one united currency. As convenient as it might be—and you do have terrific examples of such united currencies like the euro—I think part of the culture is the currency. When you take the specific currency from a particular area, you take part of the culture with you. Differentiation is what makes places unique and beautiful. It can be hard, though, having to deal with exchange rates. It’s inconvenient when the price of gas in another country is in liters not in gallons and you don’t have a calculator handy. However, it is nice to see how other countries deal with currency and finance in general. Something that costs a fortune here can be extremely cheap halfway across the world. It’s the way people build lives around these matters, though, that can truly be inspiring. 

 

YZ: Do you believe that math is a critical life skill and one that is important for students to learn? If so, why?

 

Dr. DeLo: After you leave high school, will you really use all the math skills you learned over the years? Probably not. You don’t really need the Pythagorean theorem or the quadratic formula in your everyday life. However, through math—especially through the Exeter Academy Math Model, which is the one used at Avenues Online—you are learning how to solve problems. You are exercising the part of your brain that uses critical thinking to make important life decisions. Also, I think we don’t realize just how much we do use math in everyday matters. Take finance, for example. You need to know how to do what can seem to be complicated math when doing your taxes or buying a house. We just don’t realize it because it’s become so normal. Now this isn’t to say that the other subjects you take in school aren’t as important. You need all of them to succeed. Math is just more helpful for critical thinking in life. 

 

YZ: What is one piece of financial advice you would like to give to students entering the real world?

 

Dr. DeLo: I feel like the best advice I could give to students—and this is something that the Exeter Academy Model does not really get into—is how to use spreadsheets. Spreadsheets can really help you make important financial decisions. You want to come up with a good business plan, you want to see how much a student loan is going to cost, make a spreadsheet to see all the information. Take, for example, car commercials. In these commercials, people say you can lease a great car for a reduced price. However, no one looks at the fine print and realizes just how much that lease will cost. There are interest rates, keep-ups, and residual values that cost money. You can be sure that car lease companies would not offer these deals if they were losing money! 

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Dr. DeLo kiteboarding
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