I was the new kid a lot growing up. Ft. Logan, Harder Rd., Sunset, Allen, Harrington, and Vivian—those were all the elementary schools I attended. Making friends and feeling like part of the school community? That was tough. Like most kids, I just wanted to belong, to be noticed.…
Relationships are complicated, and sometimes changes happen so gradually that we don’t even notice them. I had this experience with a friend at Rangeview.
Bobby was a custodian at Rangeview and had been there almost since the beginning in 1982. He was a fixture, the institutional memory of the school.…
Allen Elementary was a fun school to attend. I had great teachers, memorable experiences, and it was the place where I had my first crush and won my first championship. They may have been the victories of a second and third grader, but they were milestones nonetheless.…
Back in the 1960s, some vaccinations happened at school. I have a vivid memory of my first experience with this. We were completely unsuspecting, unprepared for what was about to happen.
Miss Kenealy lined us up and marched us to the cafeteria.…
Small moments in life can have a huge impact. Looking back, I realize that many of my interests and passions were sparked by events that might seem insignificant to others. Theatre, for example, became a major part of my life—first in high school and later when I taught at Rangeview.…
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) has been a big part of my teaching and my life for the last fifteen years. One of the best parts of my experience with PLTW has been the Summit conferences. Over the years, these events have evolved—there was a time when they held one big conference, then they transitioned to smaller regional events, and now they alternate between a large conference every other year and an off-year event called Masterminds.…
I believe that as we grow up, life gives us signals about what we should be doing. The key is to pay attention. Sometimes, those signals come later in life. My last fifteen years of teaching were spent in computer science, cybersecurity, and engineering.…
Allen Elementary was a small school in San Bruno, California. I wasn’t there for very long, but a couple of experiences deeply impacted me and set the tone for my education moving forward. It’s often the little things that stick with kids the most, shaping them in ways they never forget.…
Pitching pennies has been a childhood pastime for generations. The rules are simple: whoever lands their penny closest to the wall—or even better, gets a “leaner”—wins. A group of kids would play, and the winner took all the pennies. It seemed like just another harmless schoolyard game.…
When I started teaching, I had the misconception that my point of view was the most important thing in the classroom. But the longer I taught, the more I realized that my perspective was just one part of the classroom culture—not the driving force.…
Conflict is inevitable in a classroom. It’s a small space with 30 students and a teacher trying to teach while maintaining order. Sometimes, students will get on the teacher’s bad side over minor things. I found myself in one of these conflicts back in junior high.…
At every staff development day in my thirty years of teaching, we were asked to connect the curriculum to the students or the real world. Over the last few years, however, I believe we have lost focus and forcefully removed the backbone of these ideas, using words like frivolous, childish, silly, and trivial.…
As technology becomes more ubiquitous in our world, I think back to my humble beginnings. When I was teaching Technology at Montview, I was sometimes limited by the classroom teachers’ expectations. While I wanted to give the kids all they could handle, the teachers often just wanted word processing, slideshows, and drawings done on the computer.…
There are a few questions asked by every umpire before a game. One of the most important question is: “Are your players properly equipped?” This is the do your players all have a jockstrap and cup on. This is critical for a few positions and was often a battle for us as coaches.…
Creating cybersecurity classes can be fraught with concerns, as schools and districts often harbor apprehensions about the potential for inadvertently fostering hackers or criminals. It’s essential that these programs incorporate a strong moral component. Fortunately, my experience has shown that many students self-select out once they realize that cybersecurity involves more than just breaching systems.…
The greatest joy I have is sharing computer science, cybersecurity, & technology with others. The opportunity to share with fellow teachers has always been a highlight but it is a double-edged sword. Teachers who want to lead inservices about technology often ask me for help.…
The following excerpt is from Seymour Papert’s book Mindstorms, published in 1980, yet its relevance to current classroom practices persists. The book is over forty years old and is still as important today as it was in 1980. The passage below speaks to a project by students using “Turtle” programming to create a holiday sign.…
This is the completion of my official retirement blog. I did exactly what I said I would do. I have a story for every student contact day. I will be branching out a little bit because I still have many stories to share.…
One of the hallmarks of my business classes was bringing them real-world situations. I told a lot of stories about me and my friends and so I had a series of law stories based on Lakewood. This was not my idea.…
Sometimes we need to serve as monitors for our students. I had a teacher in high school who refused to use my nickname, and his reasoning always made sense. He felt that it was important to honor the student, and using their name instead of a nickname reinforced that idea.…
People need refuge on occasion. I am an introvert at heart and can spend hours just in quiet or with my music. I know my facade is as an extrovert but that is what I do to teach and be in the world.…
We are in our last week of instruction. This is a time I reflect on what went well and what needs changing for next year. This year I don’t have to plan for next year so I will take time to reflect on thirty years.…
Another story about Amanda from my elementary days. It was my first week of teaching and I had the principal come into my classroom and ask if I wanted a gifted student. I don’t know of any teacher that doesn’t want to work with the best and the brightest.…
I saved some of the juicy things for last because I didn’t want to get in trouble. These are two stories that happened in this last quarter. Kids are entertaining me to the end and I appreciate it. The first story was a simple comment made by a student that caught me off-guard but was one of the greatest things I have heard related to technology.…
The is nothing more sacred to a teacher than the opportunity to use the restroom. We hold it dear and do not want anything disturbing our routines. When I got to Rangeview I was in my early 40s and was one of the younger people in our area.…
This is a quick story but still one of my favorites. Nate was a teacher in Social Studies. He had a weird sense of humor and if you put us both in the same room we were dangerous. Standardized State Testing is a horrible waste of time and energy but even worse for the teachers who have to sit and watch kids take the test.…
We have very short speeches during graduation. The reason is that the event is about the graduates and not the adults. In APS we have a special reason for not letting school board members speak. It is not because of all of them but one specific incident at an RHS graduation.…
Bantering with students is a way that teachers make connections with students. I think I have used many catchphrases over the years and some take on a life of their own. It culminated years ago in one of my students creating a poster of things I was not allowed to say anymore.…
I had a post about our first trip to Berlin earlier but I want to add a couple of details I didn’t include in the first post. The unexploded bomb that delayed the train was just the beginning. We got to see the era of capitalism that has exploded worldwide.…
I have spent my career being at the forefront of technology I have used some great products over the years. PowerPoint is a case in point. I started using PowerPoint for MAC in the early 90s. It didn’t start out as a Microsoft product but they were bought in the late 80s.…
Leadership matters. For my CyberPatriot trip to the National Finals, we had a leader that had emerged three years earlier. Lucas Nicodemus was our leader on the team and ran a tight ship! Our goal from 2010 was to return and Lucas spent the next three years making that goal a reality. …
I try to avoid making promises because I don’t like the idea of breaking them. Every now and then I make a promise and wait and hope that I can deliver. Our first year with CyberPatriot was successful because we made nationals.…
Our first year in CyberPatriot saw us push all of the rules. The competition started as an added piece for ROTC. It really hadn’t considered the open division, so when they made it available to all schools, the rules had to be challenged.…
Emails have become extra work in this modern day of education. There was a time when the principal got all of the information from the district and anyone else and synthesize what we needed to know. They would make a weekly or daily bulletin that we all read.…
The escapades with my hair continue. A few years after the leg waxing incident, I decided to do another homecoming hair challenge. I knew that the legs were off-limits this time and so I went with shaving my head bald. The good news is that after every time I have done this, it has grown back.…
One of the fun activities in high school is the annual homecoming. As a teacher, I felt it was my responsibility to participate and show the students the value of school spirit. I mentioned the dress-up days previously but I want to highlight getting deeply into the spirit.…
I have been asked what are some of the crazy things I have done as a teacher. I will explore the pathway that hair has held for me over the years. You may ask what my hair has to do with the crazy things I have done as a teacher.…
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about high school dress-up days. I have just added three pictures. One of the fun parts of being a part of high school is the dress up games. I am just going to let you bask in the glory of the Blues Brothers, The original Uncle Fester, and the Incredibles.…
I think we have a responsibility to give our students a sense of themselves and where they can go. High school is often the beginning for many students but it is their destination that is the most glorious. Theatre was a place for many students to find themselves.…
It has been said too many times in my career that I have to be a little crazy to be a teacher. With that idea, I decided to direct One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. Upon reflection, I might have been crazy.…
Actors always think they are the best and most creative to ever take the stage. That is why they are good actors but sometimes they take it too far. Sandy Scott, Tammy Strouse, and I had different styles of directing. One of the hallmarks of my technique was freedom on stage.…
Les Miserables was one of my favorite productions we did at Rangeview. The show we did in 2003 still ranks as one of the best high school productions I have been a part of or seen. We had exceptional actors and the set was a thing of wonder.…
Actors are sometimes hard to convince about playing a part. I had one example as I was directing Fiddler on the Roof. The actor who played Tevye had to be loose and free in his personality and his actions. Robert was picked for the part because he had a great audition.…
Every director has made casting mistakes. Steven Spielberg to a second-grade teacher doing “The Magic Schoolbus.” I have made my share. In my defense, I have made some brilliant choices. Every now and then there is a monumental mistake that haunts you.…
This story is reported from my perspective and memory. I know people have had other experiences so I am speaking just for myself. There are students that have a huge impact on their teachers but not many transcend as much as our theatre spirit.…
Every director that is worth their salt, does a Shakespeare play. It was my turn and I picked Romeo & Juliet for my run at Shakespeare. I want to say this with a little pride. A few of the kids that were in the production have done well in the performing arts as a career.…
I want to take some time and do some stories from my years in theatre and performing arts. I mentioned very early in this blog that I got into the Theatre Department because the principal in my interview talked about the activities I did in high school.…
This was the final post from 2009. I will have a couple of more later in the year but this covers the serious and important stuff. I will talk about an American Consulate Guard almost shooting me and a French Monkey later!…
There is nothing that compares to a school lunch. I remember back to the pizza day or even better the cinnamon roll day. Those were our favorites. I still long for corn with my pizza because that was how it was paired in school.…
I am going to start doing some stories from our part of exchanges at Rangeview. Bud Blauer & Patrice Dovas-Hudson had very strong programs. Bud had a school in Kazakhstan to support the Russian language program. I loved having the students in my classroom every year and as a result, I received one of the most prized souvenirs of my teaching career.…