Welcome! You are about to embark on a wonderful adventure. This year we will be learning all about our universe and how we as individuals fit into it. Strap on your seatbelt and hang on as we take a year-long tour of the universe.

My name is C. Graham Allard-Wilcox and I am your host for this endeavor. Think of me as a facilitator of knowledge, a collaborator as we work our way through the school year. As we progress through all of the unique and fascinating material I wish to point out that, although I have a lot of knowledge that I have gained over the years, it is impossible to know everything there is to know. Therefore, I will be learning alongside all of you as we progress through the year. Fear not, we will laugh, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes and come out more knowledgeable about the world around us by the end of the school year.

But first, a bit about me:

I am a parent to my two sons, Robert and Hunter. As of this posting they are 22 and 28 years of age. I am proud to be their dad. I am a husband to my wife Monet. She worked in TV news for many years and is now becoming a landscape designer.

I grew up both in Stockton as well as San Luis Obispo. Both of my parents were educators. I graduated from Lincoln High School in Stockton in 1985. In high school I enjoyed playing music in marching band, symphonic band and jazz band.

I didn't complete my four year college degree right away. Before I finished my B.S. in social science, I completed a vocational degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. That's right, I was a chef before I was a teacher. I worked as a chef for about 20 years and had the pleasure of living in many different parts of the U.S. I worked in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Aspen Colorado, Sacramento, Napa Valley and Portland Oregon. I'm probably forgetting a location or two, but you get the idea.

While I enjoyed that career as a chef, I came to realize that I needed more than just the creativity and business acumen required to run restaurants. Therefore I returned to school and completed my four year degree in social science, graduating from Portland State University.

Now, there's not a lot one can do with a bachelor's of social science in the real world, other than teach school, so I returned to California and obtained two teaching credentials; one in multiple subjects and one in single subject social science. At some point in time I also decided to pick up graduate degree in online learning. So I also have a master's degree in instructional science and technology (that's a fancy way of saying that I can design and develop online classes).

If you've managed to read all of this up to now, you probably have come to the conclusion that I have a love of learning, and you're correct. In my spare time I like to take classes at Mendocino College for fun. I've taken agriculture classes, real estate classes, history classes, and am planning on taking art and Spanish soon as well. Why do I do this? Because I love to learn new things, and I wish to impart that love of learning onto you.

My wish first and foremost for you during this school year is that you are ready to learn and have a good time while doing it. So often I see students become frustrated because they don't understand something right away, or they get frustrated from making mistakes. In room 2 the rule is to celebrate your mistakes. Literally! We jump for joy when we make mistakes! Why? Because that's the perfect time to learn something new! We learned how not to do something! Hooray!!!

So lets embark on this journey together and have fun while learning!

I'll see you in the classroom.

Warm Regards,

Mr. Wilcox