Welcome!
I have been teaching 7-12 Social Studies for the last fourteen years. I have spent most of my career as an educator with Fauquier County Public Schools (FCPS1) at Liberty High School. This will be my fourth year teaching at Mountain Vista Governor's School. During the 2024-25 school year, I will be teaching Humanities 12, along with Psychology. Prior to teaching with FCPS1, I taught for a few years in both Ohio and Maryland.
My Philosophy of Teaching:
Learning is a lifelong process. Most of it does not take place in a classroom, but the classroom is a wonderful environment to process what is happening in the world. In the classroom students should feel free to explore, question, debate, and disagree in an atmosphere of courtesy and respect. Students should explore a plethora of issues to gain an appreciation for the complexity of our world. It is crucial to develop analytical and critical thinking skills in the arena of public policy. As a lifelong learner, I truly believe that it is important to ask the simplest question, yet the most complex question to answer, WHY?
My mission is to teach my students, as if they were my own kids. I believe that this helps to foster positive relationships with each of the students. One of the essential questions that I ask myself when I teach the curriculum is how would my kids enjoy learning about this topic, and how can I explain it to them in a way that will stick. Also, since I teach government and politics, I do my best to allow students to freely express their understanding of course content and current events. I do by best to remove myself from the politics of a given topic being taught, and, instead, focus on what does the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, amendments, legislation, and court system have to say on the topic at hand. I have learned, that if you allow these documents to do the talking, individual bias can essentially be minimized.
I believe that the students of MVGS are the leaders of our future. As a result, bridging the gap between science, math, and public policy is imperative.
The primary course that I teach is Humanities 12, International Relations and US Government and Politics, both are taught every school year.
The following are the main ideas and themes taught in Humanities 12.
Required primary documents (US GoPo)
1. The Declaration of Independence
2. The Articles of Confederation
3. The Constitution of the United States
4. Federalist No. 10
5. Brutus No. 1
6. Federalist No. 51
7. Federalist No. 70
8. Federalist No. 78
9. Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Key International Relations Documents
1) UN Charter
2) Universal Declaration of Human Rights
3) Convention on the Rights of the Child.
4) Statute of the International Court of Justice
5) The Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
What are the major themes of International Relations taught in Humanities 12?
Conflict, peace, security, and SOVEREIGNTY!!
World101 is used to help teach the various issue that face the international community.
Required Supreme Court cases (US GoPo)
1. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
2. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
3. Schenck v. United States (1919)
4. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
5. Baker v. Carr (1961)
6. Engel v. Vitale (1962)
7. Gideon v. Wainwright
8. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
9. New York Times Company v. United States (1971)
10. Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
11. Roe v. Wade (1973) - No longer a required course, but still taught.
12. Shaw v. Reno (1993)
13. United States v. Lopez (1995)
14. McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
15. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
*You can read more about the Humanities 12 course under the MVGS Humanities page.