Class Act

I came to teaching late in the game after thirty years of experience in the business world. I began as a sub in and around Sacramento in 2000 and became a permanent sub at Jonas Salk Middle School from 2001 to 2002. My wife and daughter and I moved to Gulf Breeze Florida in 2002 where I became a permanent sub, teaching grade 12 English at Pensacola High School. In the fall of 2003 I was hired to teach grade 8 Language Arts at Warrington Middle School in Pensacola. I stayed there for six years until I transferred to JHWorkman Middle School in Pensacola where I have been teaching grade 6 Language Arts since 2009.

Teaching is all about learning. I am a risktaker in my teaching style, willing to try new approaches and then evaluate my successes and failures and try again. That keeps it exciting for me and it also challenges the students. I am a believer in the fundamental importance of neatness and organization in a learning environment that fosters risktaking and creativity. I consider the classroom to be a place of learning, where everyone can learn especially the teacher. But this cannot be achieved without effective classroom management and rapport with every student. It is a challenge every day but well worth the effort. Learning, like life, is a process and growth is the result.

I have a BA in English and History from McMaster University in Canada and a law Degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Canada. My teaching certificate is from the University of West Florida Alternative Certification Program in Pensacola. JH Workman is the first International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program school in the Florida Panhandle and I have completed level two training in IB teaching methods.

I have written five stage plays, one of which has been produced in four cities. I have just completed my first novel written for the pre-teen level. I have a diverse range of work experiences from being a licensed private investigator in Canada, an attorney in both Canada and Washington State, a shoe dawg, a bartender and the President and General Manager of the world's first tour submarine company in the Cayman Islands. After all is said and done I realize now that I was a teacher all along.