Mr. Muscarella wants to make his students feel welcome, and he does a really good job of it. He uses posters, records, flags, anything to send what he calls a ‘nerd code’ to make his room cozier.

When people think of Mr. Musc, they may think of his history class. They could also be thinking about this passion for rock and roll, or how his room is decorated in a way that makes all sorts of people feel comfortable. What people may not talk about as much is the Sociology class.

In the interview, Mr. Musc said that sociology as an elective is talking about all the things you don’t talk about. Things like race, gender identity, sexuality, all sorts of things you couldn’t talk about at the dinner table.

He said the type of teacher he wants to be is someone who shapes his student’s moral compass, someone who helps them ask their own questions instead of worrying so much about the answers.

He says that sociology is important as a class because you talk about so many things that aren’t normally discussed. “Things don’t linger in the shadows for good reasons,” he said.

Mr. Muscarella mentioned racism as a big topic in sociology, saying “Is it our fault? No. Is it our responsibility? Yes.”

When I was in his class for regents global, if we ever had any spare time in class he would maybe throw in a little sociology lesson. They were always interesting, and I always felt comfortable discussing those topics in his class even if I wouldn’t have elsewhere.

If you’re interested in any of the topics sociology covers, you should consider it. Mr. Muscarella is an amazing teacher, and he’s very good at talking about the things that “shouldn’t” be said, that really need to be said.