About Me

Born under a curiously auspicious November harvest moon, Mr. K. rose to prominence on the mean streets of San Antonio, Texas, attending an International Studies focus magnet school, developing proclivities for art, music, language, and photography. Mr. K was the child of a Californian mother and an Indian father. His mother was a school librarian and information management consultant for the San Antonio Catholic Diocese school system; his father was initially a biology teacher, a Fulbright scholar who then came to the United States to complete his second master's degree in Counseling and became a community college foreign students' counselor.

After high school, Mr. K. moved to Denton, Texas, where he completed a bachelor's degree in English Literature with concentration in linguistics supplemented with minors in Italian and Education. He then began working as an educator and soon completed his master's degree in Linguistics.

Mr. K is a member of Professional Photographers of America and regularly attends professional development to pursue his passion for creating meaningful, aesthetic, and narrative imagery for people's homes in and around the North Texas community. Mr. K. has also worked as one of the leaders of a photography club based out of McKinney - The North Texas Photography Club..

Mr. K. lives in McKinney Texas with his wife, two boys & one girl, and his sweet puppy, Aubrey, a loving, benevolent, basset/labrador mix.

Certifications: Journalism 8-12, Technology Applications 8-12, English Language Arts 6-12

Professional Associations: Association of Texas Professional Educators, Association of Texas Photography Instructors, Texas Professional Photographers Association, Professional Photographers of America

Favorite Movies: Meet Joe Black, The Shawshank Redemption, Harry Potter, Love Actually, James Bond, Inception, Courageous, Pleasantville

Favorite Music: Shane & Shane, Pearl Jam, Hillsong United, Bethel Music, Tool, Need to Breathe, Glenn Miller, Stevie Ray Vaughn, 90's Alt Rock

Favorite Books: The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Harry Potter Series, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, The Shack, Sherlock Holmes, For One More Day, The Great Gatsby, The Bible

Favorite Foods: Sushi & Hibachi, Fuddruckers, Paciugo, Starbucks

Favorite Sports Team: The Spurs

Favorite pass-times: Photography, Travel, Reading, Woodworking, Recycling, Listening to Music, Photo Editing, Eating, Drinking coffee (while doing any or multiple of the preceding).

Favorite shopping Spots: Amazon.com

Favorite Words: Scoundrel, Sassy, Clandestine, Fiasco, Presumably

Places Mr. K. has traveled: Malta, Mexico City, San Francisco & Sacramento California, Breckenridge Colorado, St. Louis Missouri, Gettysburg and Scranton Pennsylvania, New York City & Buffalo New York, Niagara Falls Canada, Mumbai, Deli, Varanasi, Agra, & Goa India, Paris, Nice, Orange France, London and Oxford England, Florence, Rome, Venice, Pisa, Bologna, & Naples Italy, Sicily, Florida, Vermont, New Hampshire, DC & Alexandria Virginia, Lima and Cuzco

Peru.

What you need to know about me: (my values as a teacher)

High Standards & Expectations: Many of my former students would tell you that I"m a strict teacher in terms of my expectations for your behavior and academic performance. I teach middle school because I believe in moving students toward maturity as young adults. As such, I expect that you conduct yourself with professionalism and focus. You may encounter conflict with me if you do choose to behave otherwise.

Fairness: It is very important to me that I be fair to you. There may be times when I do things that you do not like or agree with. I encourage you to approach me when that happens. However, it is important to do so with tact. Attempting to argue your point with me in class will get you nowhere. Coming to me respectfully before or after class and speaking with me to express your point of view will typically be more effective and make me much more inclined to hear your point of view and consider your concern.

Respect: It is important to me that I show you respect in our classroom, this is why you will hear me address you as sir and m'am as well as how I will interact with you. This also encompasses your respect for our time and routine. Wasting our class time or not adhering to our class routines will be interpreted as disrespectful.

Availability: It is important to me that i be here for you when you need it. If you need help with an assignment or even just to talk because you feel stressed and could use some perspective or help to create a plan, I will be glad to work with you during tutorials as much as possible!

Honesty: Please don't lie to me, because I will find out. Often times, you can turn a negative into a positive by admitting your mistakes and learning from them. I gain respect for people when they show they are trying to improve themselves. Trying to cover up mistakes with lies however only makes the situation worse.

Enjoyment: It is important to me that we have fun and enjoy what we are learning, but the amount of fun we are able to have is directly affected by how much I can trust you. It is a partnership. Please understand that fun will stop very quickly if we are not taking care of business. The amount and variety of privileges I offer will vary based on the stability of the trust relationship that we develop.

Affirmation: It is important to me that I commend you for the things you do well, and it is my goal to communicate that to you as much as possible-- as well as to your parents :-)

Input: It is important for me to hear your feedback on things you enjoy or ideas you have. If you have an idea of something you'd like to learn about or an idea to make our class better, please let me know (respectfully and constructively)!

Adequate Preparation for Advancement: It is important for me to equip you with the skills you will need in the DP.

Success! It is important that you help yourself as much as possible and necessary. However, it's important to me that you know that I'm here to help you succeed!

Favorite Quotes:

Knowledge is everywhere; where shall wisdom be found?

In a dark time, the eye begins to see - Roethke

“We too, must shatter the mirrors. We must look in to ourselves and root out the distortions until that thing which we know in our hearts is perfect and true, stands before us.” - Garth Stein

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times... if only one remembers to turn on the light." - Dumbledore

"Every man's work is always a reflection of himself." - Samuel Butler

"We must surely hang together or we shall surely hang apart." - Benjamin Franklin

Aubrey's favorite things: Rawhide chews, beggin strips, bacon flavored treats, cheese puff dog treats. XXL size dog costumes