Can you tell us a bit about your history as an educator? I received my teaching degree from SUNY Oswego. I have been teaching for two years now in a 9-12 high school setting at Hudson Falls Central School District. I teach high school technology grades 9-12. I teach many different classes including power mechanics, manufacturing systems, pre-engineering, computer graphics, design and drawing and my newest course Alternative Energy Systems.
If you could go back in time and give advice to yourself about teaching, what would it be?
I often just have to remind myself to slow down and be thorough with my lessons. Remembering that I know the information but the students may need more time to catch on and grasp an understanding for the material. Patience is a must in education.
Public, Private or Charter schools? Why?
I attended a public school and now I teach in one. I enjoyed the integration with all different kinds of students, no dress codes and the academic freedom.
A common notion that society has on teachers is that they have a lot of vacation time. How do you spend your vacation time and is all the time off as good as people portray it to be?
My vacation time is typically spent with family and friends in the outdoors, hiking, hunting, fishing and just being in the fresh air. But while I am out there I am constantly looking around and thinking about possible projects for my classroom. My Pre-Engineering class is currently building 10' kayaks out of PVC tubing, zip ties and shrink wrap for a structural engineering unit. This unit is something I thought of while on vacation kayaking with some friends. People think teachers get a log of time off but we use it to re-work lessons, write and align curriculum and prep for future projects to come. There is more to teaching than people think. I remember spending a lot of my Christmas break last year getting ready for my upcoming spring courses. I teach five courses in the fall and 6 courses in the spring. There isn't a lot of time to make this transition and if you don't use your vacation time to prep you may find yourself unprepared.
How do you feel technology has impacted education today? (Cyber-bullying, Social Networks)
Technology has had a significant impact on education today. I currently have a Smart Board and twelve classroom computers. I can't imagine what I would do without them. My district has done an amazing job keeping up with the technological advances. As far as cyber bullying and social networks are concerned, I am a huge fan of social networks outside of the classroom. It helps friends and families stay in contact and up to date on family life. Where I teacher cyber bullying has not been much of a problem, but I know it happens. Our district has great filtering software to keep the social networks out of the school. Students can only contact one another via e-mail. There is no chat software which I think is a very positive thing. It still forces the students to have the face to face contact to learn interpersonal skills like body language and eye contact.
What are your main interests in the field of education? What educational topics do you focus on?
As a technology teacher my main interest is technology and engineering. My goal is to introduce students to all kinds of different learning opportunities. I want them to get a feel of different career options. I introduce the newest technology to keep the students up to date. I recently added an alternative energy course so that the students know what is available to them alternatively. The students are our future. They are going to become electricians, contractors, and engineers. I want them to learn how to build the best way to also help our environment. If they learn alternative ways now they are more likely to use it in their future. I also focus on brain storming, critical thinking and teamwork. I use the "Ideal" problem solving system. It helps the student centered groups brainstorm and think of possible solutions before jumping the gun on building. It cuts down on the waste of materials and building time. Pre-Planning is always key.
What influenced you to want to become a teacher?
I always use to spend time with my great grandfather in his work shop "Tinkering" as he called it. I learned a lot from him about building. I enjoyed taking the technology courses while in high school but it never hit me that I wanted to teach until after two years of college. I enjoyed drawing house plans but didn't like sitting behind the computer doing it all day. So I decided looking into teaching CAD/Drafting and technology. I wouldn't change a thing!
Do you have a recommended teacher link you would like to share with our community?
http://www.hfcsd.org/webpages/awood/
Teaching is...creatively expanding the minds of the students; our future.
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