Teaching Mission Statement:

I made the decision to pursue education as a career my senior year in high school.  It is a deep rooted desire in my heart of hearts.  I want to open the eyes of students to a whole, wide world that is much bigger than they ever anticipated.  There is so much to learn about people, cultures, places, countries and governments that you could spend a lifetime studying and still have many more aspects of our world to study.  I want to engage my students and give them the same fascination about the human race that I have.  To me, teaching is more than getting the students to pass the test.  To me, teaching is instilling in my students the knowledge that they need to succeed in life and the skills on how to have a life in which the learning never ends.

Teaching is not just a job.  It is not only a career.  It is a life changing and heavily influential profession.  I want to be a teacher that makes a difference in the future. My 12^th grade government teacher changed my life.  I dreaded taking that class, expecting it to be boring, but it was one of the best classes that I have ever taken. I learned a lot about being a responsible citizen in that class and I want to pass on what I have learned.  To me teaching history, not only the history and government of our nation but also the history of the other countries of the world is essential in an increasingly global world.  In the future we can no longer ignore the culture and history of other countries.  If we are to remain a leader in the world we need to appreciate what the rest of the world has to offer. 

Educating our young people in the culture and history of the world is the noblest pursuit that I can think of.  I want to help our young people learn how to think for themselves and make responsible decisions.  I want to help them realize that they are the government and they need to have a voice.  I want them to learn how to analyze what is going on and make decisions and form opinions on issues based upon knowledge not based upon popularity.    I want to give hope to those students who believe that the world has given up on them and therefore they should give up on themselves.  I want to work with the students that nobody else wants to work with.

I love teaching teenagers.  They are at a time in their lives where they are defining themselves and developing opinions on how they feel about the issues that surround us today.  I enjoy guiding them through this difficult season of their lives and hope that even in a little way that I am influencing the future. My license plate says “Padewan”.  The term “padewan” comes from Star Wars (I’m a huge Star Wars fan, ask any of my students).  A padewan is a learner. I am a lifelong learner.  I want my students to be lifelong learners too.