Full STEAM Ahead
A Rockhurst High School Blog
I am a member of the great class of 2005 here at Rockhurst High School. I was born and raised in the Kansas City area, before leaving to attend college at Saint Louis University. At SLU, I majored in both mathematics and secondary education. Rockhurst is the third Jesuit high school in the country in which I have had the pleasure of working. I taught for two years at Regis Jesuit High School – Boys Division in Denver, Colorado, as well as Georgetown Preparatory High School in Washington, DC. I also took a year between those two jobs to get my Master’s degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Boston University.
Here at Rockhurst I had the pleasure of being the Junior Varsity tennis coach for two years. Currently, I am the mathematics director of the Hurtado Scholars after school program.
At the beginning of every school year, I tell my students I do not expect perfection; but I do expect them to strive for greatness. Greatness is achieved when a student attempts to reach just beyond where he believes himself to be capable. This is how growth and greatness can be attained. However to reach this goal, a student must put forth the effort to try, and many times, fail. Through failure a student can grow, and eventually conquer, what he once believed to be unachievable.
My dream classroom is full of collaboration, creativity, and discovery. It is through these three key components that students will come to understand the mathematics content best. My dream classroom is one in which the students are developing and discovering mathematics together, as opposed to me simply dispensing my knowledge to them. My dream classroom is a flexible space, an ever-changing environment, that will provide the students with a safe place to be creative, to fail, and to ultimately succeed beyond where they ever thought possible.
As a member of the faculty who is well versed in curriculum design and review, my STEAM goals involve the development of an enveloping curriculum. What I mean by this is students should no longer see their courses as isolated experiences. The Rockhurst academic experience should be connected across departments, so students are receiving an integrated curriculum that shows students success in one area can lead to understanding and success in every aspect of their Rockhurst career.
