Interview by Samantha Lane
Nick Griffin
High School Social Studies
I am currently reading…
the third book in the Hunger Games series, The Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins. The first one was given to me a few weeks ago and I just can’t seem to stop reading them.
Proudest moment in my teaching career…
I started teaching six years ago at Fitzsimmons Middle School in Bailey as the 8th grade history teacher. Last year I was able to watch those students graduate from high school. When I was talking with them after the ceremony I realized what amazing adults they had turned into and how honored I was to have been a part of their lives.
What keeps me up at night…
I am very lucky to be teaching such interesting subjects and I spend many nights reading about the topics that I teach as well as current events to discuss in class. I should say that it does usually tire me out by about 9 though. Sleeping isn’t a problem most nights.
Bike or Run?
I would have chose run before moving to Salida. We have such an amazing trail system that I seem to be on my bike nearly every day. I still manage to sneak out for a run every once in a while.
My favorite day of the week is…
I love Saturdays. The one day of the week where I’m on my own schedule and can enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning and go for a long bike ride in the afternoon.
I wish I had more time (and money!) for…
I want to travel to as many places as I can. Once I get there I want to be able to stay and be more than a tourist, but understand the culture of the people who live there.
In 8th grade, I was…
Really dedicated to basketball. I used to play every day after school with my dad. My middle school basketball team went undefeated that year and my dad and I took a trip to the Indianapolis 500 the next summer.
My educational philosophy one-liner…
Don’t Fail.
My hidden talent is…
Yet to be discovered.
My favorite thing about Salida schools…
I love the personalities of the people I work with. Everyone has their own unique qualities that they bring into the high school to create a wonderful working and learning environment. I know that I will have moments of frustration followed by laughter on a daily basis.
Love this series, love the fact that we have such competent and caring individuals teaching in our public schools. It’s worth remembering that other cultures give teachers far greater respect and reward.
I would quibble somewhat with “don’t fail” as a philosophy, though. As they say, wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes in part from making bad decisions. Testing boundaries and pushing the envelope virtually guarantees failure of one sort or another. IMHO, it’s useful to cultivate the resilience to be able to accept failure and learn from it, rather than trying to avoid failure altogether. And indeed, some of the best role models for me have been those who have failed in dramatic and spectacular fashion, but have nonetheless gone on to do wondrous things.
Edit: I should add that if “don’t fail” is being used as an admonishment in the context of school — as in “don’t fail social studies” — that’s pretty sound advice. I wasn’t talking about the F-on-a-report-card kind of failure. :)
What does “IMHO” mean?
IMHO = in my humble opinion. :)