*Professional Biography (Limit to two double-spaced pages) What are the background, people and events that persuaded you to become a teacher? Describe your most significant contributions and accomplishments in education.
The gritty blue collar towns of Western Pennsylvania were the laboratory for the development of what has made me a teacher. It was on the football fields at the base of the rolling hills where I developed discipline, a solid work ethic and determination. The coach’s whistle and the crowd’s roar forged these traits into my everyday life and motivated me to be a better student. Playing football in college was my goal but I learned a greater lesson: the classroom was a unique place where one could seek improvement far from the crowd roaring and coach’s cajoling.
My family moved often, ten times or more. I was a good athlete so that was my way to make friends in each new school. Math became difficult because of the shuffling curricula but the history book was always a familiar place for me. It was in social studies class that I learned a classroom can be an entertainer’s stage. A teacher that inspired me was Ray Edelman. He created an “experience” in the classroom. One day he combined and synchronized the media of film, slide projector, and cassette player to teach us about the assassinations of MLK, JFK, and RFK. I absorbed these kinds of techniques and could see myself inspiring others some day in the same way.
Each day I would come home to a house that was usually empty. My parents divorced when I was only four. My Mom worked many jobs and life at home was not always picture perfect. Money was short and so was food at times. School became a place I could depend upon. Teachers and coaches were there everyday and they were consistent. They looked past my family situation. I was a free lunch kid that was not a part of the 'in' crowd that wore the designer jeans of the 1980s. My teachers saw something special and unique in me. Education is a tool for societal and personal improvement. I see it this way because I have lived it myself.
My professional life has come full circle. After beginning my career as a sixth grade teacher and coach, I accepted a position at my middle school to be the Instructional Technology Specialist in 1997. The internet age was just beginning. The excitement of a career in technology led me to work long hours to study the craft of customer service in the realm of desktop and network computing. It was not long before I accepted a position outside of education. I won awards for my commitment to customer service while working in down town in Houston. My company was just a short walk from Enron on "Energy Row." I thank the Enron scandal for getting me back on to the path of being an educator. If not for the collapse of Enron and the massive downsizing of my company, Dynegy, I would still be working in technology. A switch back to education gave me the opportunity to change the lives of students, not hard drives. My new customer service skills helped me develop great relationships with my students and their parents. As a technologist turned teacher I was able to have a multi-media classroom experience that was “Ray Edelman-like." I sometimes wonder what he would have done with a PC, DVD player, projector and big screen!
A quote by Jackie Robinson best illustrates my desire to return to the classroom: "A life is not important except for the impact it has on other lives." My most significant accomplishment is my leadership role with new teachers at Atascocita High School. Teaching is one of the most isolated professions on the planet. Organizing ways to bring new methods, inspiration and vital tips to my colleagues improves the entire school. I have been motivated by the passing of two history colleagues and one special student. These tragedies have taught me to reach out to those I come in contact with everyday and get to know people on a deeper level. Each day is an opportunity to learn from others and give of oneself.
In the spring of 2006 a terrible tragedy occurred. It made national news but struck close to home. A student in my first period class was bitten by a bat infected with rabies. Zach died very quickly after they realized what was wrong. Our entire school was in a state of shock. Seeing Zach's empty desk brought an overwhelming sense of sadness. Looking into the eyes of his classmates and friends brought tears. Throughout my life I have had to overcome in times like these. The experiences on the football field with more mundane disappointments, like losing a championship game, taught me to keep fighting. Just as my teachers were once a consistent force in my life, I knew that during the passing of our beloved friend and my student, it was my job to be there for the kids. It is now my turn to do for my students what teachers and coaches had always done for me.
It is still very much in rough draft form. I have had to be very careful not to get into too much. I only have two pages to work with. Much like a resume, the essays are an opportunity to get an interview. They will read the essays of the 15 finalists and then bring in three to five of us for interviews. I just need to get to the interview. Then I will feel like I have done enough to represent my school and give us a shot to have the district teacher of the year. Hopefully my essays will be enough to do that.--
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