Teaching

I’ve worked as a wilderness instructor, teacher, and school instructor for over a decade. That experience working with students has been incredibly impactful on my work ethic and philosophy. The lessons were often after I’d made mistakes and I deeply appreciate my students and co-workers for their patience and understanding. 

In the classroom, I primarily taught 8th grade language arts and throughout the year, I also taught Video Production and Life Skills (a catch all that included study skills, service, and other relevant topics). In all of these courses, I worked to give my students ownership in their class and their students. To do this, I worked on creating and teaching a framework that gave the space for the students to grow. My 8th grade life skills class decided the school needed a climbing wall and after fundraising $1,000, they figured out how to build it with an additional $14,000 of donated time and materials. In my academic classroom, I gave my students ownership in their class through a gradual progression of weekly activities that taught student lead skill acquisition, reading comprehension, critical writing, and conversational competence. At the end of the year, my students knew the framework for the class and I could walk away from the classroom. Not only was it successful the first year, it was incredibly popular with students and parents in subsequent years. 

I’ve had the opportunity to teach a wide variety of wilderness courses that range from 1- 16 days. Most recently I’ve focused on white water kayaking and canoeing – primarily focusing on middle school students and staff training. I’ve also led skiing, tree climbing, sea kayaking, winter camping, climbing, and natural history courses. I’ve loved the opportunity to share my passion with other people and create opportunities for them to experience success and a new perspective on the world.