First off: I'm old. Like really old. I grew up in Austin, Texas. I started my adult life in the U.S. Navy. Pretty much, I just rolled around in the mud and flew around in and repelled out of helicopters. After that, I attended college and then started my first civilian job in sales management. I went on to a director position at Nextel/Sprint for 6 years and ended up running the government affairs effort (lobbying and legislative bill writing) for a family law related non-profit in the mid-west. I also represented law firms in their particular legislative interests. I was lucky enough to be appointed by the Governor to the Nebraska Judicial Nominating Commission (we interviewed and presented judicial nominees to the Governor for appointment to the bench) and the Foster Care Review Board. The board's charge was oversight of the Department of Health and Human Services foster-care efforts. The goal was to ensure that foster kids were not stuck in the system too long and that the department's permanency plans were adhered to. Just before teaching, I was a realtor in the Austin area. I specialize in complex negotiation and I still have a few clients that I love to deal with (when I have spare time).

Where I have lived: I have lived in Austin, (born at St. David's Hospital in fact), Memphis, Norfolk VA, Washington D.C., Maryland, Florida, Nebraska and Italy (Catania and Syracusa Sicily to be exact).

My family: I am married to a far better person than me named Becky. We have 7 children. 6 boys and one girl. The oldest, Alex, is 31 years old and the youngest, Reed, is 16. Alex (lives in China), Andrea (lives in Alaska), Austin (lives in Irving TX), Blake (Lives in Virginia), Matthew (Lives at home in Austin), Patrick (Lives in Maryland), Reed (Lives at home in Austin).

School: I went to Austin High School ("always loyal"). I was possibly the worst high school student in the history of the school. After the military, I studied Economics at the University of Maryland and University of Nebraska, Masters in Business Administration at Bellevue University, Law at St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio TX.

Why do I want to teach: I did a lot of things before deciding to teach, but none of them were really all that fulfilling. I did a little soul searching and talking to my family and decided that the best way that I might have a positive impact on other people would be to teach. I chose math because, first, I was decent at it in college (horrible at it in middle and high school) and I realized that math is something that a lot of people really hate. I believe that they hate it not because they can't do it but because of the way they were taught to approach it. Math is one of those subjects that can directly help or hurt a student as they progress in school. Fractions appears to be the topic in math where students either sink or swim. So, middle school math made sense for me. Now, lets get to swimming.

Hobbies: I love lifting weights, SCUBA diving, writing, playing the viola (I'll explain later), gardening (I grow Ghost peppers and Carolina Reapers, the hottest pepper in the world by the way). Most importantly, I love love love spending time with my wife and my kids.

I'm pretty simple when it comes to teaching. Students won't learn if they aren't appreciated and respected. They also don't learn in the same way. I, for example, have to learn by doing. Just reading a few sentences or looking at a picture does nothing for me. It does for some people, but not me. I need to get my hands dirty. So, I like to try to find out how each student learns best. Then I tailor my teaching to that. I like group work but I also believe in teacher led instruction and Socratic questioning, at least until I see yawns. I incorporate resources such as Khan Academy (fantastic resource for nearly level / subject. Try it out some time). I use prezi, power point, google classroom, and other interactive/digital resources, but I also believe that information on a screen isn't always good enough. I can be a little old school. I like paper as an option and sometime a requirement. I am also all about showing work. A student may get the wrong answer to a question but what if they did a long problem and simply missed a single calculation in the process. If they don't show me what was on their mind (their process) then I don't get a clear idea of what they understand and what they don't. So, I give credit for all work done correctly, not just the final answer. Finally, I want parents to be as involved as they want to be. I know, i'm asking for trouble, right? Well, I need their feedback and ideas.

I call my student "Math Masters" because as a team, we will be the best. Makes no difference at what level the kids come to the class, they will improve during this school year. They will each master the subject to the absolute best of their individual abilities and they will learn that a team effort is better than any individual effort.