Q&A: Mr. Nosari

by Vivian Leiva Lopez
Mr. Robert Nosari was born and raised in Hamilton Square, New Jersey and attended Morgan Elementary School, Reynolds Middle School, and Steinert High School.  He graduated from Steinert in 2006 and was a member of the National Honor Society and Peer Leadership. Mr. Nosari was also captain of the soccer and baseball teams during his senior year.  His baseball team won the 2006 Group IV Baseball State Championship along with a Mercer County Championship soccer title in 2005.
After graduating from Steinert, he attended Ramapo College of New Jersey for four years and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies and a secondary Social Studies teaching certification.  He also played DIII baseball for the Ramapo Roadrunners for three years and also graduated from Ramapo in May 2010 with Magna Cum Laude and other scholar-athlete honors. 
In the September 2010 he began and successfully completed my student teaching at Steinert. He started teaching Social Studies and coaching at Nottingham in 2011. In 2018, he completed his Master’s of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from TCNJ.  He is currently the Varsity Boys Soccer Head Coach and Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach. 
He lives with his wife, dog Tucker and cat Duncan. Mr. Nosari’s favorite dream vacation would be traveling to New Zealand. His favorite food is chips and dip; and his favorite pastime is CrossFit.
Can you describe the best history lesson you have delivered so far?
I honestly cannot describe the best history lesson that I have delivered. There have been so many memorable lessons over the years. I can say that most of them are in US History I during our World War I unit. In the WWI unit student participation dramatically increases because of the video clips, primary sources, and political cartoons that we analyze in class.  Everyone gets involved, even students who have sat quietly all year.

How do you encourage your students to care about events that happened long ago? 
I try to encourage my students to care about long ago events by trying to relate it to their lives as much as possible.  I try to bring in current events or use analogies to make boring historical topics understandable for everyone.  

Why do you want to teach history? 
I want to teach history because understanding the human experience is an incredible gift of knowledge that we should all be aware of in order to navigate society. History tells us who we were, who we are, and who we can become.  History, like life, is the greatest teacher.  

How would you get your class interested in history? 
I get my class interested in history through making connections to the students. I have to get to know each student and know their likes and dislikes, wants and needs, strengths and weaknesses.  Once I get to know each student then I can find ways of connecting it to their lives.

What do you imagine your history classroom would look like? 
The ideal history classroom would have a Promethean Board for notes, surround sound speakers for videos, a dry erase board on every wall for student writing, college desks for students to sit in, and a bookshelf of primary source documents for students to physically touch and see.  A class size of 16 would also be ideal so we could debate, break up into even groups, or even do partner work.

What is your favorite part of sports that you coach?  
Of course my favorite part is getting to know and be around our incredible Northstar athletes.  My other favorite part of coaching both soccer and baseball is being outside. I'm a very active person and cannot sit still. Coaching sports allows me to get outside and move around where I naturally feel very comfortable.