About Me

Hello, TMS! I'm beginning my fourth year at Thomas, my tenth year teaching, and ninth year teaching honors-level ELA and Social Studies.

 

I believe school can be fun and enjoyable, so I try to build in lots of games, competitions, goofy activities, creativity, projects, choice boards, and puzzles/problem-solving. However, like the rest of life, school sometimes is not fun. It's simply work that has to be done. This can be rewarding, though, and students can feel pride in accomplishment and ways to improve. 

 

My favorite ELA unit to teach is the hero’s journey and the novels we read in the middle of the year in this unit. I also love vocabulary games and wordplay.

 

In SS, Israel and India are two units I really enjoy. My favorite part of the year is when the Silk Road competition heats up in May!

 

I'm married to Kristin Naylor, an MTSU instructor (public speaking) and I have three grown daughters and four grandsons. I enjoy reading historical fiction and some mysteries, grilling and cooking (not baking -- too precise!), helping other teachers in Facebook groups, some travel, and cuddling my dachshund, Pepper.

 

I can play the piano by ear, have done a little community theater, and my music choices are firmly stuck in the 1980s. Prepare to be Rickrolled!

 

I'm an inch taller than Abraham Lincoln was (without his hat), by the way. And I have one bionic leg.