From the deep and dark horrors of Room 20 lurks the mysterious Mr. Silva. Rumors depict him as the destroyer of hopes and dreams, making torture a reality. But do you actually know him?
For the past six years, Brent Silva has been working as a teacher at CHS, instructor to the dreaded AP World History class as well as other social studies classes. Since the beginning, he has effectively incorporated sarcasm and humor into his teaching, making it an enjoyable yet stressful environment for students.
Silva in his natural habitat.
“I found Mr. Silva incorporating humor to be very effective because it lightened the atmosphere in the class and made me look forward to it,” says junior Madeleine Fontenay, previous student of Silva.
The history teacher claims to have inherited his humor from his father’s side of the family, and as an only child of divorced parents, he learned to entertain himself.
Likewise, true-life experiences can have major impacts, believes Silva.
“Graduating from high school and college were expected, so I wouldn’t consider them as milestones,” Silva says. “Getting my first job and getting married on June 16, 2004, and having kids I considered as actual milestones.”
Similarly, an event during his winter break in college freshman year had an augmented impact. His friend Adam Lease was running late to an event when he died in a car accident. It was the first time that life truly became real for him, Silva explains, and that there were consequences for actions, as Lease was running late and driving too fast.
Despite changes in personal life when attending college at Humboldt State University, Silva was aiming at a major in communications with an emphasis in sports broadcasting; however, he changed his major to history due to increased interest.
Aside from his work, Silva holds family close to his heart, taking on home renovation projects with his father and father-in-law and spending quality time with his family at 49ers games. He also has a deep interest for classic and hard rock, his favorite artist being Guns N’ Roses.
“[Silva] is a well-rounded guy,” comments social studies teacher and friend Golden Anderson. “He has a lot of different perspectives that he can add to a conversation, which makes him like a chameleon. He kind of fits in any environment.”
Adds Silva, “Life is very serious and if you can’t learn to laugh at yourself, or see the humor in things, then life is going to be very tough. With my teaching, students are learning quite a bit, and at the same time they are laughing quite a bit, which is a good balance.”
-Joyce Doherty
