Photo by Bini Allen
Brian Balman currently teaches Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy’s precalculus class and multiple classes at Johnson County Community College. Born in Utah, Balman later moved to Kansas. Over the years, Balman has held many jobs both in and out of education, including math instruction at HBHA in 1988. When asked what brought him to back to HBHA this year, he responded, “my car.”
Balman, better known as Mr. B, is a high-spirited man with a great sense of humor. Balman has always adored math. He explains his love for math by saying “[math] never changes, it’s useful, it solves problems, there are definitive answers, and it’s all about right or wrong.” Balman studied at Wichita State University, Calvary Bible College, Johnson County Community College, University of Missouri Kansas City, and Fort Hays State University throughout his academic career.
Balman has always had a passion for traveling and experiencing new places and people, and he is looking forward to getting closer to students and faculty at Hyman Brand. He describes working at Hyman Brand as a “working vacation.”
When Balman first began his teaching career, he struggled to be engaging and he described himself as “very boring”, but over the years he has developed his teaching style to be more engaging with students by incorporating his great sense of humor into class.
Outside of his busy teaching schedule, Balman enjoys amateur radio because, “I like talking to people.” He tunes in to his radio and connects with other people from all over the globe to just talk. Balman is also an avid baseball fan and he has coached over 400 games. When he has time, he is out working on his farm.
Mr. B is happily married with four children. On rateyourprofessor.com, Balman received a very high score. One student says, “LOVE Mr. Balman. I truly wish more teachers were like him.”A student in his HBHA precalculus class, Jacob Katz, says, “He truly is an inspiration to me.” Balman’s main focus in teaching and life is, “Fun”, because, “It’s hard not to have fun when you’re doing math.”
