DAN MURPHY Mathematics Teacher, 10th Assistant Grade Level Dean

Dan Murphy is a member of the Math Department and sophomore assistant grade level dean. He has been a teacher at EHS since 2019, where he currently teaches AP Statistics. He is an SOS (Students of Service) co-director and an academic coach with the AAP. Mr. Murphy grew up right here in Houston and attended Bellaire High School. He enjoys reading, following NBA basketball, jogging, and learning foreign languages and data visualization.

If you were not a teacher, what would you pick for a career? Data analyst / data journalist.

If you could travel back in time, what period of history would you choose?

Late 19th-century Vienna (Fin de Siècle).

What do you most respect about your colleagues? They put the kids first, and they have good intentions.

What do you most respect about your students? Generally students come in with a can-do attitude and good humor.

Read any good books recently?

The Perfect Run by Mackenzie Havey.

What music do you enjoy listening to?

Radiohead is my favorite band of all time. I’ve currently been listening to a lot of modern classical music by Einaudi.

What is your favorite way to relax?

A good cup of coffee and nothing that needs to be done.

Who is your hero (fiction or non-fiction) and why?

B.R. Ambedkar because he came from a disadvantaged background in India yet ended up playing an instrumental role in drafting that country’s postindependence constitution that aimed to protect every citizen’s liberty and dignity. He wasn’t afraid to speak out about things that needed to change.

Tell us your life story in a sentence.

I grew up in Houston, have lived in Washington, D.C., New York City, Dubai, and Cairo, really enjoy teaching, and am a proud father of a 14-month-old boy.

If you could sponsor any club (whether an EHS student asks you to or not), what would you want to bring to the EHS campus?

Super Smash Brothers Melee Club (on the old-school Nintendo Cube) because it is my favorite video game of all time.

Which historical figure (past or present) would you hope to have a meal with, and what would you like to ask them during conversation? I would like to have a meal with George Carlin and just talk about the meaning of life from his perspective, just as a regular person, not as a stand-up comedian.