What class(es) do you teach?
Integrated Math, Business Math, and Special Ed. I am also the tennis coach here at South.
What did you do before teaching (what college(s) did you go to, did you have another job, etc.)?
I went to Cumberland College and played tennis there. I got a degree in social work and then went back and got my masters in special education. I also coached the girls tennis team here at South from 2005-2010.
How many years have you been teaching?
This is my 19th year teaching.
How have you passed your time during the quarantine (any interesting hobbies or other interests)?
I have a 4-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son who both take a good amount of time engagement wise. My son is taking up tennis so I spend a lot of time working with him on that. We also live a bit out of town on 10 acres of land and my wife just took up gardening so I built some above ground gardening boxes for that. We have chickens as well and my 4-year-old named them all after Disney princesses. We have really just been trying to bond together as a family because a lot of the time in life we end up spread too thin.
How has online teaching impacted your teaching/teaching style, especially not knowing the kids?
I think it’s really stretched everybody apart. It stretched me from the standpoint that it’s hard to get students to participate and engage with their video on, so that’s been a big issue. It’s also hard to build rapport because it’s leaning on a lot of struggles students have such as social interaction online. I’ve been happy that we’ve been back in person because people can kinda see who I am, how I am, and the care I have for them.
Why did you choose to teach at South?
This is my fifth year coaching the boys [tennis team] and I’ve been a little bit of a journeyman teaching wise, but I’ve really been wanting to teach where I’m building a program. I feel like it’s important to be in my players’ lives throughout the school year, not just during the season. I also taught here in the early 2000s and really liked the climate and I’m really fortunate to be able to be back.
Is there anything or else or anything specific that you’d like to talk about regarding being a new teacher here at South or just in general that I didn’t ask about?
A big thing that I’ve been stressing with my [tennis] team and I think applies to the classroom as well is that it’s important we stay connected with other people. These are some trying times that are stretching everybody and maintaining those connections, whether it be distantly or virtually, is important because when we’re not connected we’re gonna struggle even more.
