Q: One of the classes you teach, AP US History (APUSH), is a killer class for virtually all of its students. It really resembles a college course in difficulty, so many current and past APUSH students wonder why Paly’s APUSH course is so much harder than other schools’ in terms of work load and reading requirements.
A: Well, to be honest, I’m not aware that Paly’s APUSH section is harder than any other school’s. As far as I know, all the schools are doing the same amount of work and if they are not, then they won’t be ready for the AP exams. And the AP exam is all about preparation.
Q: That’s a very valid point. So do all APUSH teachers serve some sort of powerful APUSH monster? How does that all work?
A: In some weird way, I guess you could say the College Board is the APUSH monster. Every year, they assign course outlines of what must be covered for each unit and each chapter. While I do have to make sure I teach what the College Board assigns, I also get to have some wiggle room to teach what I like and what I think is important for students to know. The Board also writes the AP exam, so I follow their outlines very closely to make sure my students know the information on the test.
Q: For part of your life, you served in the military, correct? How was all the training and boot camp?
A: Yes, I did serve in the military. I was a cadet and I got a true taste of basic training. Basically, it was incredibly physically demanding and, well, I got yelled at a lot.
Q: So how exactly did you transition from boot camp to high school?
A: Well, I left active duty, I worked a couple jobs, and eventually I got my teaching credential which is how I found my love for teaching.
Q: Past and current students have commonly observed that you tend to talk very quickly. Is this a habit for you? If so, where did it originate from, or do you simply talk quickly because you fear running out of time?
A: I think it is definitely some of both. Where did I develop this habit from? Maybe the womb. I don’t know. However, depending on the nature of the class and depending on if it is an AP class or not definitely determines the speed at which I talk.
Q: Being a history teacher and all, how many times a week do you actually read the APUSH chapters that you seem to be able to quote the text from EXACTLY? Have you simply read them once and memorized or is it more like a daily reading?
A: I usually brush up by reading each chapter before each unit and I usually read each chapter at least once each year. So, I do almost as much reading as the students. No, memorization is not how I am able to remember history. Good history is all about making connections and links rather than memorizing every single date of every single clash. However, sometimes I do remember little factoids.
Q: What is the "hot" factoid that’s on your mind at the moment?
A: Probably that before the war there were about 15,000 Union soldiers and only 26 signed up for the Confederate army. Mostly all of the soldiers stayed loyal to their sides while most of the officers were not loyal and switched sides of the war.
Q: Do you think that the South’s seceding from the Union was justified?
A: No, I do not. The reason the South seceded was because it couldn’t get its way. The Southerners wanted it all and simply couldn’t have it. Today, if a state was unhappy with Bush’s reelection, would it just leave? Of course not! Some states might be able to survive apart from the United States; however, it would make absolutely no sense and would be completely idiotic, a state seceding because its people didn’t like the president chosen.
Q: Good call, I definitely agree. As I’m sure many students have informed you, many APUSH students deem American Spirit to be a rather pointless and meaningless book that just takes up valuable time. What is your response to this?
A: I think that American Spirit is really the only way to see in depth what people in the past have said. It provides a great colloquial representation of the time and of people’s opinions. Those APUSH students who do read it will simply get more knowledge. APUSH students are free to read American Spirit; however, this year on most quizzes there are at least two questions from the American Spirit readings. I started adding more American Spirit questions to quizzes because about this time last year I discovered the majority of students were not even opening their American Spirit books. Again, if you don’t do the reading, you will suffer the consequences when grade time rolls around and those five points could have made a huge difference in your grade.
Q: Okay, one last question. You always seem to have the most interesting ties. How do you decide which tie to wear each day? Based on your mood or a desire to match?
A: I have bunches of ties and I really like to rotate them and, you know, keep my look fresh. I don’t have a huge hang up about always matching or having my tie match my mood but at this time of year I will be rotating all my Christmas ties for the next two weeks to get into the holiday spirit.
Q: Oh, very cool, I’m sure all your students will appreciate that. Do you have a personal favorite tie?
A: Yes, I think so. I think my favorite tie happens to be the one with a ton of kids in a circle all holding hands and/or waving. Oh, I also do love my tie with M&Ms on it, the History of M&Ms, that’s always a fun tie.