My name is John (or Johnny to all my friends and family), and I am a secondary mathematics teacher for a small rural district in East Texas. In May of 2022, I will conclude my seventieth year of teaching. Over those years, I have taught grades eight through twelve; currently, I am teaching ninth grade. I also introduced a new audio-visual-graphic design course at our high school which I taught for three years before passing the instruction on to another employee. In the last two years I have become the faculty advisor for our chapter of National Honor Society.
In 2005, I graduated with my BAS in Math Education from Dallas Baptist University and moved back to East Texas to begin teaching. In 2014, I married God’s greatest gift to me; we now have four children (two daughters, ages 6 and 5, followed by my sons, ages 3 and 1). My wife and I love to travel. We have toured all over Europe, led mission trips afar to places like Thailand and frequently visit her family in Canada. We also have a side hustle photo booth business that just happens to be inside a 1977 VW bus! (go check it out at www.redbusphotos.com) I also am the media director for my church. Life is busy around our house.
I have always wanted to pursue my master’s degree and the time for that journey has come. I am excited to learn and grow. I will say I am also a bit nervous – I have not been a student myself in many years, but I know the Lord will give me the strength to continue!
I have always been drawn to technology and the latest gadgets (we love our smart-home gadgets, fixtures, switches, thermostats – you name it). In my classroom, I am always looking for fun and engaging methods to strengthen a concept. In math specifically, we have used websites that allowed students to manipulate equations, graphs, variables, etc. Of course, the newest model of graphing calculator (with programs installed to aid in learning) is a tool used daily. I was fortunate enough to obtain a Chromebook cart to house 20 laptops within my classroom. This has granted us access to so many internet resources, websites, Google Classroom, online collaboration, and so much more.
I am looking towards the future and pray this degree will eventually lead towards new career opportunities within my district, regional education service center or even at the university level. Really, just wherever God leads me.
Here’s to a new beginning!!