I guess I should start with the basics... I graduated in '94 from UCSC (go Banana Slugs!) with a degree in Medieval Literature (Lit PEMS - Pre and Early Modern Societies). I earned my Masters from Framingham State College in 2000 (after debating between pursuing a grad degree at BU and getting a degree, or one at FSC and getting a degree and affording somewhere to live, as well)... I've been teaching full time for some thirteen years - three in Hopkinton, MA - from where I graduated HS in '86 - and ten now in Shrewsbury, MA.
My middle school career began as something of a fluke. I had intended to teach at the college level (with a degree in Medieval Lit, it was either serve dinners at Medieval Manor in Boston, or teach), when I stopped in my old high school to see if they needed any volunteers. My old principal, Fred Lane, was in there, and saw me - "Derek, what are you doing here?" he asked from behind the reception counter. I told him. "You want to volunteer or do you want to work?" The next day, I was a substitute teacher, in the room next door to my old social studies teacher, Barry Alman. Welcome back, Kotter.
I teach in order to affect positive change.
Before becoming a teacher, I was something of an activist: as a member of the "radical student union" at UMass Amherst in the 80's, I spoke out against CIA recruitment on campus, in order to provoke a dialogue about the role the Agency was playing on campus, participated in a protest and takeover of Munson Hall, and was arrested with Abby Hoffman and Amy Carter in what became known as the CIA On Trial Project. Later, when staff members were being mistreated in the Campus Center Hotel, I organized the staff for collective bargaining and helped bring about better working conditions. In California in the early 90's, when the company I worked for dumped mercury into a storm drain, I called in the EPA, who sent a team to assess the site and arrange for cleanup... and in my teaching, my drive to speak up and speak out resulted in my leaving Hopkinton, almost leaving teaching, and ultimately ending up in Shrewsbury - for which I owe Mary Jo Moon, the principal of Sherwood Middle School at the time, a huge debt of gratitude. She took a chance on me and, in so doing, saved both my passion for education and my career.
All things happen for a reason.
Speaking out led to some minor bumps and bruises - I have paid some fines, walked away from some jobs, and even suffered from some mercury exposure, but the guiding core in it all was doing what I saw to be right. Mind you, I am sharply aware that I live in a country where the punishment for having a voice is far less severe than in many corners of the world, and many pay far, far greater prices every day. I am in awe of those who do so - the women and men wearing green and holding fists high in Iran, or marching by the thousands in Syria...
...human history can be seen as a constant series of efforts to be heard. Whether behind a microphone or behind a gun, someone is trying to have their voice recognized. And the better we are able to hear, to really listen, the better we are able to articulate our thoughts into words, the better we - as a species and a people - will be.
All things happen for a reason.
Speaking out led to some minor bumps and bruises - I have paid some fines, walked away from some jobs, and even suffered from some mercury exposure, but the guiding core in it all was doing what I saw to be right. Mind you, I am sharply aware that I live in a country where the punishment for having a voice is far less severe than in many corners of the world, and many pay far, far greater prices every day. I am in awe of those who do so - the women and men wearing green and holding fists high in Iran, or marching by the thousands in Syria...
...human history can be seen as a constant series of efforts to be heard. Whether behind a microphone or behind a gun, someone is trying to have their voice recognized. And the better we are able to hear, to really listen, the better we are able to articulate our thoughts into words, the better we - as a species and a people - will be.
... I see teaching as a key facet of this. I encourage students to be active speakers and active listeners, to think critically and to investigate for themselves. I want my students to be active participants in the world around them, to be willing to take risks, and to be part of something larger than themselves.
Towards these ends, my classroom centers on a motto: "How Can A Voice Be Heard?" Literature is listening and seeing: really looking at the people, the characters, for who they are, and hearing what they have to say. Writing is an expression of voice: I tell my students that there will be times in their lives when their written word must stand for who they are, and they need to be able to express themselves clearly. Through these two prongs, my hope is that my students exit my classroom with a greater clarity - of themselves and their role in the world - than they had when they arrived.
In the modern classroom - as well as the world at large - the arena for listening and being heard is digital. We are living our lives in a way that is simultaneously more immediately interconnected yet, at times, personally distant - we have 800 friends on Facebook, but how many are really connected to ourselves? In the last few years, I've focused more and more on the role of technology in our lives and, by necessity, my classroom. I promote the effective use of the many digital tools that are now available to us as educators, and the importance of stepping away from those tools as well, of having time to be reflective, and to grow, without a sidebar IM conversation or a Facebook update.
This Blog is the next step in my development as an educator and activist.
