Inspired by his students

What motivated you to become an upper school teacher?

When I was in college and graduate school, I worked as a tutor and a teaching assistant, and discovered that I really enjoyed working with students and helping them understand physics and astronomy better. At the same time I also worked on research projects and found that aspect of science much less engaging for me. As I earned my doctorate I always assumed I’d look for a college-level teaching position— but once I started actively searching for jobs, it quickly became clear that collegelevel positions that focused on teaching are very rare, especially in the sciences, and if I ever wanted to get a tenured position I’d be competing against people who really enjoyed doing research. That made it a no-brainer to make the shift to upper school level teaching, and the fact that I still love doing this 30 years later tells me I made the right choice.

I ended up at the Academies in the fall of 1999 because a position opened up right at the start of the school year, I had a good friend working here who encouraged me to apply, and once I learned more about the school I really liked the opportunities that working here offered—a great group of students to work with, supportive colleagues, and a chance to focus on the areas I’d studied in college and graduate school (my previous school was very small so I was teaching every science class and all of the advanced math!).

Develop a metaphor to describe your philosophy of teaching and learning

I don’t know about a metaphor, but my philosophy of teaching and learning comes down to four main points:

(1) Always be clear through my actions and words that I really enjoy working with my students and that I care about them as people, not just as potential grades in a gradebook.

(2) Present and explain what I expect the students to learn in the simplest ways possible. Not by “dumbing down” anything but rather by remembering that my students in many cases are learning the material for the first time and so a complicated explanation that’s clear to me will most likely just overwhelm and intimidate them—and no one learns well when they’re overwhelmed and intimidated.

(3) Provide opportunities for students to do easy things (which helps them build confidence) but also plenty of challenging things (because tackling challenges is how we all grow).

(4) Create a supportive environment where it’s okay to make mistakes and get things wrong and where students feel encouraged to ask questions and ask for help.

In your opinion, what is the most powerful indicator of student success?

A willingness to work hard, ask questions, get help when needed, and the persistence to keep doing those things even if they aren’t getting the results they want—yet. A sense of humor and perspective (“no that B+ you got on the quiz is not the death of your academic future…”) also helps.

How do you stay current with emerging trends in the field of education?

I’m going to approach this question from a different direction, both because I have almost no formal education training and because in the 30 years I’ve been teaching at the high school level I’ve seen “trends” come, go, come back again, and on and on, and that’s left me with very little patience for educational “trends” and pedagogy created by people who have either never been a classroom teacher or who have forgotten what it’s like to work with students every day. What I do have is 30 years of practical experience in the classroom, and 30 years of constantly reflecting on what I’m doing that’s working and what I could be doing to make it work better. One technique I find especially useful is to observe what my colleagues are doing and when I see something that I think might work for me and my classes (because we’re all different people with different strengths and skills and styles, and what works for one teacher with a particular group of students might not work for me or my students), shamelessly borrow what they’re doing (giving credit where due of course!) and adapt it as necessary to help it work best for my classes.

How do you build a positive school culture?

By building a positive culture in my classroom—by making my little corner of the world a better place. Some ways to do this include accepting students for who they are while encouraging them to grow and improve, creating an environment where students feel respected and cared about as people, and creating a space where it’s safe to ask questions and make mistakes, especially if a student is willing to learn from those mistakes. Owning up to my own mistakes and holding myself to the same standards I hold my students to is a big part of that.

It’s also essential to let students (and my colleagues!) know when I think they’ve done something exceptional or just plain done something well. It’s important to know when we’ve made a mistake or done something wrong, so that we can learn and grow from that—but knowing that we’ve done something right can be a really important part of having the strength and energy to keep moving forward, especially when life is busy and challenging.

How do you define self-esteem and how do you build and enhance that in upper school students?

I think the most important parts of self-esteem are being comfortable in your own skin and recognizing the value you bring to the lives of the people around you.

I think this is especially tough for many teens who are constantly bombarded with conflicting messages about what they should think is important and what makes their lives successful and/or worthwhile. I try to make my classroom a place where students are accepted and valued for who they are and where it’s safe to struggle and ask questions. Everyone is interested in different things, so it’s okay if a student isn’t especially enthused about physics. Many students come into physics having had a rough time with chemistry— but hopefully by the time they finish my class, every student recognizes that they can do at least basic physics, that it isn’t something that only “those smart people” can do. Knowing that with enough work and a willingness to ask for help as needed, they can do hard things can go a long way toward helping a student feel successful and worthwhile.

How do you relate to the Upper School students to help bring out their strengths?

This can be tough to do, because every student is different and it’s important to recognize that some have very different priorities and interests from mine. Getting to know each student, even if only in small ways, is important, and showing them that I care about them and have their best interests at heart through my actions helps build the trust that’s needed for me to help them grow and succeed. I try to constantly encourage them to pursue the things they’re passionate about, even when they’re different from what I enjoy. I also try to let them see that I’m a real person just like them, with my own strengths and weaknesses and perhaps occasional insight earned through years of experience. And as I’ve mentioned previously, it’s important that my classroom is a space where it’s safe to make mistakes and try new things, because often those offer the greatest opportunity for growth.

What advice do you have for students?

(1) Work hard and always try to do your best, while recognizing that your best will change depending on the circumstances. It’s not necessarily tough to ace one test, but when you have four tests in one day just surviving might be a major accomplishment! At the end of the day, the important thing is knowing that you put in all the effort you realistically could. Regardless of what anyone says, you can’t give more than 100%.

(2) Make time to relax and do things you enjoy—it’s important to recharge your batteries, plus life is too short to spend all of your time working.

(3) Never be afraid to ask for help. None of us can do everything that comes our way, and we all need help at times.

(4) Be kind. It doesn’t cost you anything and you never know how much it might mean to someone who’s struggling (or even someone who isn’t).

(5) Let the people who are important to you know how much you value what they bring to your life and how much you care. You never know how long they’ll be there for you to do that.

(6) Always own up to your mistakes and do what you can to make things right. Everyone makes mistakes; the important thing is to learn from them and make new and different mistakes next time.

What inspires you?

My students inspire me. They take challenging courses and spend the school day going from one class to the next, often with major shifts in what they’re learning from class to class and few breaks beyond moving between those classes and lunch. After school they spend hours engaged in sports, the arts, and other activities—and then when they finally get home for the evening they have homework to do. When I get home after a day like theirs, all I want to do is relax and fall asleep! Students do this day in and day out, and in most cases manage to maintain their interest and enthusiasm for what they’re learning and successfully complete their work. My students are amazing young men and women and they continue to inspire me to do my best to help them be as successful as they can be every day.