Up late on the night before a test, a half-awake physics student might reach for a review video on YouTube. They may click on a video and suddenly say, “Is that…Mr. Roush?”

     Alex Roush, Upper School Physics/Math Teacher, has run a YouTube channel since he was a senior in high school. His channel has gone through many changes over the years to cover his variety of interests, including physics, piano and video games. 

     “I was a senior in high school, and I was really obsessed with a mathematical concept called tau. I wrote a paper in my sophomore English class about it; I even interviewed the theoretical physicist from Harvard who came up with it. So I decided to make a video in honor of Tau Day [June 28],” said Roush.

      Roush’s channel then shifted to covering some of his favorite games, such as Pokémon and Mario. These resonated with students who enjoy the same thing, allowing Roush to engage with students in a non-traditional way.

     “I’d say we do connect based on similar interests involving his channel, because we both play similar games, and we enjoy gaming,” said freshman Nico Ramos.

     However, over time, Roush’s content found its way back to the academic world. After taking more rigorous math and physics courses in college, he was inspired to create content on his class material.

     “I was learning all of these niche things I felt were a little inaccessible, just because of how difficult [the material was]. I made my YouTube channel mainly for me to get knowledge out there,” said Roush.

     Two years ago, Roush created a 51-second video providing a brief overview of calculus’s main topics, which amassed over 50 thousand views. The video was created using Manim, a collection of animation code created by one of Roush’s main inspirations, YouTuber 3Blue1Brown. 

     While Roush creates long-form content, he also creates YouTube shorts. While many find short-form content a problem, as it causes attention spans to shorten, Roush views the form differently.

     “I don’t like to frame it as a problem with [short form] content. I like to frame it as just how [teenagers] brains work, and [we] have to adapt [to it]. So, making bite-sized content is really nice. And then, if it reels students in, then they can learn a little bit more about how the topic works themselves,” said Roush.

     The goal of Rouch’s channel is to find ways for students to learn in the best way possible for them. And also, maybe at the same time, find some of their other interests.