By Travis Preston
Q: How long have you been teaching?
A: "I've been at it for 20 years now."
Q: What is your opinion on YONDR?
A: "I don't have a fully-formed opinion yet, although I think cellphones are a problem and that they are disruptive, I had hoped we could use alternative methods to discourage students. Overall, though, I think it's been a good thing."
Q: What do you most and least enjoy about your job?
A: "Well, I most enjoy working with the kids. I enjoy their energy, and it's why I do what I do. On the other hand, I would say that I least enjoy any aspect of my job that is driven by MCAS."
Q: Have you ever had another job outside of the teaching field?
A: "Yes, I've had a career outside of teaching. I worked in the mental health field for a while. Specifically, I worked with people who had severe mental illnesses."
Q: What made you want to become a teacher?
A: "Initially I didn't want to major in history, but I didn't have many other career opportunities, so I decided to get into it."
Q: What was your "I almost quit" moment as a teacher?
A: "I don't know if I've had one...yet. So, the answer to that question is yet to be determined. Maybe it'll happen tomorrow. But, no, nothing particularly stands out. How's this-- My 'I almost quit moment' was the time I was asked to be interviewed for this article when I should've been correcting, instead."
Q: What was your "This job is totally worth it" moment?
A: "I've had a lot of those moments over the years, really. Letters and thank you notes from students who are graduating and who have graduated have to be at the top of the list of 'totally worth it' moments for me."
Q: What is the craziest thing that happened to you on the job?
A: "Oh, man. Let me think about this... You know, we had a teacher who, in the middle of the school day, went out into the middle of the street, took off her shoes and started playing the bongo drums. I'm not kidding. That really happened. I think we've all had our bongo moment. We also had a teacher protest the war in Iraq even though he was going to get canned anyway. He kind of went off the deep end, that guy."
Q: What's the most difficult daily aspect of your job?
A: "I'm not going to lie, as an educator, you have to be able to juggle a lot of tasks at one time. It' can be mentally taxing to keep up with everything all the time.
Q: How do you typically spend your breaks and summer?
A: "I really like taking beach trips with my wife and children. I'll also play some golf from time-to-time."
Q: Why did you choose to teach what you teach?
A: "I like teaching History II because of the time period that's being taught. I used to like the idea of teaching Juniors, as well. I feel like they are more mature, but still take school more seriously than senior would, who are nearing the end of their high school journey."
Q: If you knew then what you know now, would you still have decided to get into the profession of teaching?
A: "I think so. Yeah, I definitely think so."
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