The final school bell rings, but Palo Alto High School’s science room 1702 fills with a steady stream of students from the Science Olympiad, chemistry classes, and AP Research enter the classroom. They’re waiting for guidance from their teacher — Samuel Howles-Banerji, more widely known as Mr. HB.
Having dedicated the past 10 years to teaching chemistry at Paly, Howles-Banerji has gained years of experience as a teacher. This year, he is using his experience to take on an entirely new experience: teaching AP Research, a class designed to allow students to demonstrate critical thinking and research skills on a topic of their choice.
He recalls his early interests in science, initially focusing on biology before developing a passion for chemistry through lab experience. However, he found lab work dull, and soon discovered a love for interacting with people while working as a tutor. Through this, he recognized the apparent dissatisfaction of students with their class experiences, which inspired him to return to the chemistry classroom as a teacher.
“It was almost painful to me that people were so unhappy with their chemistry class,” Howles-Banerji said. “It [chemistry] is challenging, but it should be also interesting and exciting, and that kind of made me want to get back into the classroom.”
With his connections to the Palo Alto community through his education and family, he knew Paly was where he wanted to be.
“I was already largely connected with Palo Alto community because my wife and her family were from here,” Howles-Banerji said. “So in terms of why Paly, this was very much where I wanted to be from the get go.”
But while Howles-Banerji has enjoyed teaching chemistry, there is a part of him that hopes to know the broader Paly community. He typically speaks almost exclusively with other teachers in the Science Department, but teaching AP Research gives him an opportunity to know staff from other departments, and also a wider range of students.
“I tend to be pretty siloed,” Howles-Banerji said. “I talk to science teachers, and that’s about it. AP Research has me working with Ms. [Mary] Sano, who is a history teacher, and Ms. [Lucy] Filppu, who’s an English teacher. I also have a much broader group of seniors who are all interested in researching different topics.”
Despite the challenge, Howles-Banerji finds value in the class, especially with the AP Seminar/AP Research Peer Mentorship Program, because of the way it fosters unexpected connections through mentorship.
“In AP Research, the ability to learn from one’s peers is substantially greater than in any course that I’ve ever taught,” Howles-Banerji said. “So there’s that aspect of enjoying students becoming teachers, as opposed to just learners. And, seeing students who tend to silo themselves, like I do, break out of the groups they’ve been in probably long before reaching high school is really nice.”
Howles-Banerji has also served as a SciOly adviser for nine years, but he sees himself less as an advisor. As such, his goals for the team are less focused on winning and more on the team staying well-connected.
“I’m like the responsible adult in the room in the way that the team runs itself, so I don’t necessarily have goals in mind for what I want them to accomplish, it’s more socially,” Howles-Banerji said. “Last year, I felt like I did a better job of connecting with all of those students and getting to know them a lot more, and I think that that led to a much greater connection between the students as well.”
Although SciOly is very student-run, the team still feels Howles-Banerji’s support. Junior Kiara Yoon, a captain of the SciOly team, says that Howles-Banerji’s curiosity contributes to their team community.
“I mean, he [Howles-Banerji] has always been super supportive about SciOly,” Yoon said. “He’s really passionate about his own science, so it’s really helpful to have a mentor.”
Howles-Banerji’s dedication to fostering a connected community at Paly is made evident by the opinions of the students around him. For example, his teaching assistant — senior Angeline Wei — says that Howles-Banerji is a teacher who truly understands students.
“He understands a lot about student culture and people in general,” Wei said. “He’s really professional and a really good teacher. But at the same time, he’s super supportive and lenient. I’m a senior so I have college applications, and he’s been very accommodating about that.”
As a teacher who values both the education and relationships of his students and devotes time to assist them after school, Howles-Banerji exemplifies deep appreciation for his students and the wider Paly community.
“I feel like the students at Paly are generally very gracious and kind,” Howles-Banerji said. “The fact that students say thank you after a lesson, even if I talked at them for 90 minutes makes me feel like there’s still generally an appreciation for what we have here, and that’s a culture that I really enjoy. It’s why I like trying to stay connected with students, because I mean, that’s why we teach.
