Teaching and Teamwork

Humanities Teacher Drew Inzer discusses his path from the Super Bowl to the classroom — and the orchestra.

BY KRISTIN DUISBERG

Drop in on the St. Paul’s School Symphony Orchestra during their twice-weekly evening rehearsals and you might spot a bassoonist who looks a little different from his fellow musicians. Humanities Teacher Drew Inzer, who joined the SPS community with his high-school-sweetheart-wife and two children in 2023, has been playing the instrument since he was in fifth grade, and has sought out opportunities to play everywhere he has taught, including Maine’s Bridgton Academy, Northfield Mount Hermon and Lawrenceville. He’s also a 6’4” former professional football player who earned an Ivy League championship ring as a starting offensive tackle at Brown University in 1999 — and a Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots in 2002. Even sitting, Inzer stands out a bit in the woodwind section of SPS Orchestra, but for him, the stage is just another opportunity to be part of his favorite dynamic: a team.

Tell me about the bassoon.
Bassoon is one of the things that’s been a constant in my life forever. Growing up, my friends up the road had a dusty bassoon in their attic in this alligator skin case. It was ancient. We always looked at it and I thought it was super cool, so when it came time to pick an instrument for school, I picked the bassoon. And I actually played on that bassoon, because I needed a bassoon and they loaned to me for a number of years, and I’ve just been obsessed ever since. It’s challenging. Every note is different. It’s just problem-solving every time you play, and I really enjoy that aspect of it. And playing in the orchestra is like the ultimate team experience: You’ve got to work with 50 or 60 other people and all be in harmony, in unison, and you have to know what everyone else is doing to succeed.

Speaking of teamwork, you had a role on the Patriot’s first Super Bowl championship team.
Playing professional football wasn’t even a possibility for me until my senior year at Brown, but it just worked out. I was with the Patriots for one off-season and then a season, and that just worked out, too. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Being there at the early stages of what would become a dynasty was transformative — seeing how organizations run, how coaches inspire, how they lead, how they prepare. … it was an amazing run. At any point in the season, I never felt like we were going to the Super Bowl; when it happened, it was surreal. Now, it’s almost like a dream.

And from there, teaching?
I worked in project management for a large construction management firm I’d worked for in college and during my first year in the NFL, but I wasn’t sure if it was what I wanted to do. I’d had some teachers in high school and college who were really great role models, and I’d always wanted to be involved in coaching and in the classroom. I loved the idea that teaching was different every single day, and after the grind of professional football, the lifestyle was tremendously appealing. So I did a teaching program for a year and a half, student teaching, and that confirmed the natural pull I felt toward the work.

You focused primarily on history and economics before coming to SPS. How is teaching humanities different?
I think what makes humanities special here is that you’re on a team on a number of levels. As part of a teaching team, you learn from your peers — everyone’s taking their own approach to the material, but there’s shared understanding, shared skills and content. And it’s also a team with your students, especially in Humanities 4, which is a long-block, double-credit class. You really get to know your students, what makes them tick, and you’re learning from them and adapting based on what they can do. You’ve got to be intellectually nimble and help nurture that same nimbleness in your students, and because it’s discussion-based and interdisciplinary, you’re always reflecting and changing. That’s a lot of what our teaching team discussions are about: How are we building this? How are we adapting? How are we making sure we’re offering the best experience to the kids?

You’re finishing up your second year here. What’s been the biggest surprise?
I think the biggest surprise is how grounded in mission and purpose St. Paul’s truly is. So often with teaching, it gets very transactional, and a lot of kids just want to do, do, do. But St. Paul’s is a place where you can also “be,” and you really see that with the students: They’re not just here for the grades, they really value the process of learning, the environment, their relationships. So that’s been a really pleasant surprise.