Education & Experience
After earning my Bachelors of Business Administration at Belmont University, the call of adventure led me to travel to South Korea with my wife to teach English as a second language. There, the spark for engaging and educating children was ignited within me! I spent 3 years in South Korea, learning through experience how to lesson plan, manage classrooms, and engage children to sharpen their English skills. As the years went on, I became disillusioned with the Korean education system. Children, starting as young as 6, spent countless hours studying traditional schoolwork, often late into the night. I saw firsthand that the lack of sunshine and the overbearing pressure to perform was taking a physical and emotional toll on all of my students. Powerless to make a great impact, my wife and I left South Korea to build a new life in the States.
Fast forward a year or two, and my wife and I created a highly successful online English business. For several years, I worked part time as administrative assistant, business consultant, video editor, and online teacher. The rest of my focus was on parenting our growing family, now of 3 lovely children! However, the call of teaching in person came back to me.
In the summer of 2022, I decided to get myself back into the educational world; but I knew that I didn’t want to be back in a traditional classroom. Woodson Branch Nature School called to me and has demonstrated more balance in its educational approach than I’ve ever experienced. I spent 2022 finding my footing in this world as an Instructional Aide for 4th grade, and in 2023 I took a leap into the role of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) Specials teacher. Here, I get to apply my jack-of-all-trades interests/skills into presenting scientific concepts and projects to 2nd-8th graders. I’m thrilled to be part of this new frontier of WBNS education!
Teaching Philosophy
My philosophy is generally guided by the Scientific Method: have a solid idea, test it out in the classroom, evaluate the results, and adjust to find more future success! More foundationally, I’m guided by the knowledge that education must be as whole-child focused as possible. Because at Woodson Branch we don’t focus on rewards and punishments, we need to creatively teach through engagement and healthy relationships. I strive to make my class engaging while also putting forth boundaries which will lead to all students succeeding and learning. My goal in the STEAM lab is to facilitate and encourage intrinsic motivation within the students, as opposed to a fully “top-down” teaching approach.
Favorite thing about Kids
My favorite things about kids are their imagination, energy, and love of play. The world is full of possibilities, and I love that kids understand that. It’s my mission to keep their imagination and curiosity alive!
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