:By Melissa Nunez-Martinez, Staff Writer
Mr. Cordes, new head of Poly’s English Department, details his work being an English teacher and author.
Mr. Cordes has been a teacher for 23 years, with the 2026-27 school year being his 10th year working at Poly. His favorite part about teaching at Poly is the pride taken in our impact to the community. He states, “It’s a very special group of kids. I’ve never been in a school that takes so much pride in who they are to the community and in sports and the legacy that they leave.” He included that one of the “best parts of his teaching career” so far was being able to share the classroom and teach his own children.
This school year also marks his first year acting as the head of the English department. He states he wants to continue maintaining “the level of excellence” already in the classroom, giving numerous props to the already fantastic English department Poly holds.
Despite starting off as a film major in college, Mr. Cordes later switched to English. Although, film was initially what attracted Mr. Cordes to the world of literature. “In a film class, we would watch a movie and discuss it, I would go back and I would read the book.” In regards to becoming a teacher, Mr. Cordes states he’s always been a critic. “I remember in the fifth grade critiquing my teacher, I would be like, man, she could have done that lesson so much better if she did this, this, and this… So somewhere in the back of my mind, I was always just like a teacher.”
Mr. Cordes describes himself as “not nice, but likeable”, a description he says will be on his tombstone. He admits he uses his funny and likeable personality to get away with actually being a strict teacher. Mr. Cordes, like most teachers on campus, is a strong advocate against AI in classrooms. He values critical thinking in his classroom, limiting the use of technology and keeping most brainstorming work in class. “We’re against the robots,” he states.
Something most people may not know is that Mr. Cordes is in the works of publishing a book. He says fantasy and thriller are his favorite genres because they allow us to escape into other worlds that are unlike ours. During the pandemic he wrote his first fantasy novel, getting over 200 rejections, something he jokingly stated was “super great” for his ego. He then began working on a second fantasy novel about a young girl who struggles with a demon of loneliness. He allowed fellow English teacher Mr. Bicksler to read the novel and said “he could not put it down.” Mr. Cordes has hopes of the second book progressing farther, but explained the tedium of being able to publish. Fortunately, due to the long process of publishing a book, he says he’ll stick with being a teacher for a while.
Mr. Cordes’ presence is something that is always appreciated by students, whether you catch him in the upper 800’s observing the masses below, or possibly strolling below with the rest of us. His determination in and out of the classroom shows true Poly Pride!