Social Studies

My father was a teacher for over 40 years. I was always an overachieving student, and my mother encouraged me to become a lawyer or doctor (the former became my first career). I told my mother that I wanted to be like my father, and I wanted to teach. She would always push me away from the profession. I wrote an essay in college about the experience and noted that my true passion was for teaching and learning. I still have that essay today. While in law school, I enjoyed the study of law and the collegiality of collaborating with my fellow law students. My summer internship experiences, however, left me less fulfilled and far from excited about a future as a practicing attorney. Nevertheless, I dutifully stayed the course. I clerked for a federal judge after graduation, and I was forewarned by my newest mentor that my clerkship would likely be my best legal job. That judge was a very astute man. Twelve years in private practice, achieving accolades and ultimately a partnership position with a regional law firm, I was still professionally unfulfilled. With my wife's prodding, I returned to my childhood dream. I have never worked a day professionally since. I have the privilege of going to school.

My teaching philosophy is predicated on fostering student engagement through building strong relationships with my students based on trust and respect. Whether teaching asynchronous online classes or in person, I aim to build those relationships through timely communication, timely feedback, and empathy. I enjoy having conversations with them on subjects and issues that are important to them. I seek to learn as much from my students as I hope the students learn from me and their peers. Teaching social studies-based classes at both the high school and college level, it is critical to learn how they are feeling about and experiencing the world and the material that we are studying in class. I strive to make my classroom less of a class and more of a community, where we are all sharing ideas and communicating and learning from one another at the same time. Whether I am teaching political science online or world history live, I find that open and civil dialogue between a diverse student body makes for a more informed citizenry with greater critical thinking skills. By fostering positive student relationships built on respect, the student’s accountability for his or her work grows exponentially. One such key element to building a trusting and respectful rapport is effectively and clearly communicating my own expectations to the class. It is critical to have a sincere attitude toward my students and show a concern for both their classwork and their lives. This attitude provides an immediate sense of collaboration rather than a strictly teacher v. student dynamic. When both the teacher and students understand each other’s goals and points of view, the building blocks of mutual respect are developed. Both teachers and students seek and deserve respect as human beings and individuals; teachers also seek respect in the professional sense but must be careful how they go about it. As a teacher, I view and maintain my professional responsibility in a position of authority, but I avoid being an authoritarian or tyrant. I always maintain an open-door policy and welcome student involvement.

School Counselor

Educators and school counselors throughout my education inspired me to pursue a career in education. At a very young age I knew that I wanted to work with children and give back to the community. I can thank individuals like my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Murray who instilled a love for learning and my guidance counselor Mr. Gomulka who never gave up on me and helped me advance to university.

My school counseling responsibilities include creating a counseling plan that aligns with the school's goals and mission to provide exemplary counseling experience and services to bridge the opportunity gap and to meet the whole student academically, socially, and emotionally. This is completed by developing a therapeutic rapport with students during individual and group counseling to help address individual's social decision making and academic goals.