The more things change. . .

. . . the more they remain the same. I'm still a teacher at McKinley Tech but I've been fortunate enough to get the chance to transfer into the Math department. Here's the short version of a longer story. I've always wanted to teach math, especially geometry. I'm good at math and, in another, pre-journo life, I studied pure and applied science and did lots of math. My principal at McKinley knew this, and so did the faculty in Tech's math department. An opportunity arose and I jumped at the chance. So, now I'm teaching Algebra II/Trigonometry and loving it. McKinley's classes are taught in 80-minute blocks. I have three Algebra II/Trig classes each week, along with three SAT Prep/Math classes. The great thing about the SAT Prep classes is that we can cover a wide range of math topics--including my favorite, Geometry!

Gearing Up

So far, my students have been learning some of the fundamentals of journalsim without using any computers. Pens and paper; that's all they've used. That's because we've been working on developing a news sense--an awareness of what news is, what types of events are newsworthy, both in school and in the world around us, and how we can "compartmentalize" that news into topic areas or reporters' beats.

Next week, all of that will change.

On Monday, my students will walk into a class room equipped with high-performance PCs, fully loaded for modern-day journalism. These desktop computers have two different types of audio and video editing software: both the Adobe Creative Suite, which gives them a full range of programs (from Audition, to Premiere Pro, to Photoshop)--and the professional-grade AVID program.

Now, all we have to do is develop the best stories, the best photos, the best radio reports and the best video reports that we can.

Look out, world! Here we come.

And awaaaaaaaay we go!!!

I'm now a fulltime teacher at McKinley Tech High School! Mass Media is where it's at and I'm excited to be working with two great colleagues. We've got a lot of great plans in the works, so stay tuned. . .

Welcome to My News Page

I'm a summer-school teacher in the DC Public School system, teaching radio and TV at McKinley Tech High School. I'm a "career shifter," too. I was a bureau chief for Billboard magazine here in D.C., and I was an on-air radio reporter for non-commercial WAMU-FM. I've been a "board op," an assistant producer and held various positions as a print journalist over the years.

Now I'm teaching. It's a lot of hard work but it's also very rewarding, especially when I see my students are enthusiastic about what they're doing.

In some ways, I think I was destined to become a teacher. It feels right.

I'll be writing more as the days and weeks go by.

If you want to know more about me right away, you can check my MySpace page at:

www.MySpace.com/dcbeat