After eight years of teaching both physical science and IB Physics, it’s almost impossible not to recognize the notable science teacher Joe Cossette. Many students throughout the years know the science teacher from his unique bow ties. More importantly, however, they are drawn to his humor, kindness and the thought-provoking topics presented in class each day.

After interviewing Cossette, he said that the three words his students described him as include “passionate,” “funny” and “caring.” Aside from the student perspective, Cossette loves “working with the amazing humans at this school, and having an opportunity to share [his] appreciation for things [he] finds fascinating.” 

Also, his favorite moments start with, “check out how cool this is!” He cannot imagine a more well-suited career for himself. Clearly, Cossette’s students recognize his passion and joy for teaching science. Aside from this, his humor brings light-heartedness and laughter to the class. 

An example of this light-heartedness is when Cossette shared that he loves his job because he couldn’t think of another career that “would give [him] permission to play with fire as much as [he] gets to as a science teacher.”

Cosette’s love for the sciences is clearly displayed in the classroom. 

When asked about his time in IB Physics, Tilerr Wasielewski, ‘22, said, “Mr. Cosette is always down to explain concepts and make sure everyone understands the material.”

Outside of the classroom, Cossette enjoys both biking and running to parks with his children, going to musicals, trying out recipes from America’s Test Kitchen, working on house projects, making music, playing extreme connect-the-dots and making unique magnet tiles with his young daughter. 

Aside from being known for his humor and great style of teaching, Cossette is known for his infamous bow ties. 

He shared that he “had never worn a bow tie before becoming a teacher, but since [he] was still fairly young when he started, [he] wanted something fairly clear [to show] that [he] wasn’t a student.” 

This led to Cossette’s collection of over fifty bow ties; his favorite has an image of data from the large hadron collider. Cossette is so dedicated to his bow ties that he has a streak of wearing them for over six years. To keep the streak alive, he holds an extra bow tie in the glovebox of his car so he will never forget to wear one.

Cossette is appreciated and respected throughout the Minnetonka community. He shared that he loves getting to know the students and seeing them find their place at MHS. 

Most importantly, the thing he loves most about the Minnetonka community is the people and insisted that it will always be “number one on the list.” The staff inspire him to be a better teacher and human each day, and he believes it is “truly an honor to learn alongside each and every one of them.”