Mr. ML

Background and Teaching Philosophy

Teaching History: I have been at Inglemoor High School since 2017, and have taught social studies and English classes at IHS.  Prior to moving to IHS, I worked at Kenmore Middle School from 2014-2017, teaching social studies, English, and leadership classes.  From 2004-2014 I worked as a teacher in the Texas public school system.  The unique reason for my family's relocation to Texas was my wife's job as an astronaut.  She did fly in space in 2010, as a part of the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station.  I grew up in Oregon and Washington, and my teaching career began in Vancouver, Washington from 2000-2004.

Teaching Philosophy:  My classroom philosophy centers on relevance and variety.  Although I am fascinated by all aspects of history, I fully understand that all my students may not be.  It is my job, as a professional, to make classroom lessons relevant to the world that students live in.  Therefore, I will do my best to make connections between the history and/or English content and the present day.  Second, I have found student learning to be increased by including tremendous variety in my classroom.  Don't expect to come to class and do the same thing each day.  For social studies, expect to read secondary sources, participate in role plays, read primary sources, write for a variety of purposes, speak in debates and mock trials, and use technology for a whole host of various purposes.  For English, expect to read a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts, write a variety of texts, and participate in research, speaking, classroom discussions, debates, and other formats.

Outside of School:  I have always been a coach.  My experience includes 15 years of coaching tennis, 13 years of coaching football, and 2 years of coaching basketball.  I stay active myself, and play tennis in various USTA adult leagues.  My marathon-running wife keeps me jogging a few times a week also.  I enjoy reading...and tend to split my time between novels and historical/nonfiction works.  I also spend a lot of time with my 16-year-old daughter, so being a good dad is a time commitment of mine.  Travel is another hobby: I have climbed Mt. Kilamanjaro in Tanzania; done a mission trip to Haiti; vacations in Thailand, Ireland, and throughout the Caribbean.  In the summer of 2019, my family and I had a wonderfully fun and historical trip to France and Spain.  Both of those locations are significant in the 1500-present world history we will be studying this year.  When I can't get out of the country, I enjoy camping, hiking, backpacking, and mountain climbing around the beautiful PNW!  For example, in the summer of 2022 my wife and I climbed Mt. Baker, and the Sunday over Labor Day we did the 20-mile Enchantments loop.