Josh Jashinski, also known as Mr. J, is the new 12th grade English teacher. He grew up in New Jersey, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Psychology. He moved to California in December of 2002, for the writing opportunities and the weather. 

He showed early interest in writing and mentoring, serving as a sports editor at his high school newspaper and often editing his friends’ papers. Mr. Jashinski also worked as a private tutor, mentored teens and taught at summer camp.

“I’ve always been drawn to teaching,” he said. “It was just a pretty natural progression from helping kids and friends with writing.” 

In his teaching work, Mr. Jashinski’s main goal is to engage students through writing and literature, and help them to become strong independent thinkers and writers who do not rely on artificial intelligence, he said.

“You have to come up with the ideas yourself,” he said. “You have to think all the way through and back it up. That’s the most important skill I try to teach.”

Outside the classroom, Mr. Jashinski recently read Kurt Vonnegut’s first book, Player Piano. He also plays basketball twice a week at Hollywood High and in a league in Santa Monica.

His biggest challenge, he said, is grading papers thoroughly and spending time giving personalized feedback.

“When I get a paper, I spend a lot of time on it,” he said. “I’ll write meeting notes on each one because I want them to actually get better.”

Mr. Jashinski’s most rewarding moments are helping students in difficult situations, such as teens in rehab, he said, and “seeing them grow and succeed over time.”

His sense of fulfillment, he said, comes from seeing students grow academically and personally.

“I try to create a warm, welcoming space where students feel encouraged to stay, explore ideas and challenge themselves,” he said.