A few words about me
Who is your teacher?
More photos should have waterfalls in Iceland as the background.
This is my 22nd year teaching. I am currently teaching Western Civilizations, AP Government, Debate, and AP Language. In previous years, I have taught AP US History, AP Seminar, AP Literature, and every level of high school English. In my spare time, I enjoy grading essays, watching the San Diego Padres and Portland Timbers, and buying more books than I could ever hope to read. I travel as often as I can, and occasionally write about and take photos of what I’ve seen.
I came to teaching after a period of wandering that included attending law school for two days, coaching debate at Carroll College for four years, and teaching in Great Falls for nine months, but the real decision to become a teacher probably began in a theater in Billings, Montana, when I saw “Dead Poets Society” for the eleventh or twelfth time. As ridiculous as it sounds, that little movie helped me understand that my passion for language and literature was something that could be shared with others.
I believe that education is about challenging people to see the world in a way they never imagined before, using dialogue and discussion. As Paolo Freire wrote, “Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generating critical thinking.” Every minute of our lives is an opportunity for education, if we are only willing to let it be.
Some of my Interests
Yes, teachers have lives outside of school.
When I’m not teaching or grading papers, I spend a great of my time traveling, thinking about traveling, and planning more traveling.
“What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? – it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road
I enjoy reading, rooting for the San Diego Padres and Portland Timbers, and listening to music. I try to write a little bit, and even though there is a failed novel in a drawer somewhere, I still hope to return to it one day.
What Am I Reading?
Mental Mixes
- Monday Morning Mental Mix April 15, 2024 April 15, 2024What Really Wrecked Boeing–Neoliberalism is an ideology that attempts to subject all of human activity to the invisible hand of the market, and since 1997, when Boeing acquired rival McDonnell Douglas (and more consequentially, its management), it has been neoliberalism that has guided the company on its decades-long flight from quality. It was neoliberalism that […]
