From Magician to Scientist: Newark's Top Teacher

No one would dare fall asleep in the classroom of Tom Collett – and he makes it hard to do so.

The energetic teacher carefully poured vapor down a rain gutter. Seconds later, a blue flame shot upward as he pulled away his flask.

“Did you see it?” he asked excitedly.   

It’s that enjoyment of science that helps the eighth-grade Newark Junior High School teacher find ways to keep his students engaged in class.

Collett was recently named . The journey to becoming this year’s top educator started with a nomination from the junior high’s science department.

Being chosen by his colleagues has humbled him. 

“This staff is absolutely amazing top to bottom,” Collett said. ‘It’s amazing to see the kinds of teachers who come here on staff and to be selected by them is overwhelming. I’m just floored by it.”

And gaining recognition on a district-wide level gratified the teacher.

“It was a very proud moment to receive the award in front of my son and my mother and my wife,” he said.

Collett credits his accomplishments to his highly energetic, enthusiastic style of teaching and persistent efforts to make lessons interactive.

Eighth grade science has a curriculum dealing with physics, chemistry and astronomy.

“I try to always get 100 percent of myself into my lessons and make sure my kids are engaged, each and every one of them,” Collett said. “I want to make kids like science. I want to show them that science is like magic—pique their curiousity.”

Magic – and the unfolding of it – has always been a passion for the Tri-City native. Collett grew up in Fremont and is a San Jose State University alumnus and a graduate of Kennedy High School in Fremont.

Collett, who has worked as a magician, said science caught his interest because of the skepticism it involves.

“I’m a curious person by nature, and I’m skeptical. That part of science really interested me. It’s all about ‘prove it’,” he said.

That is a lesson he tries to instill in the minds of his students.

“I tell them to be slow to believe people and slow to believe things they hear. You need proof,” he said.

This was Collett's first year teaching at , and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I absolutely love it here. I love the kids. I love the staff,” said Collett, who previously taught earth science at . “I taught 17 years at NMHS, and I intend to finish the end half of my career here at the junior high.”

To see an example of the demonstrations Collett uses in class, watch our video in the media section above. Do not attempt the same trick at home!