MORE ABOUT ME THAN YOU WANT TO KNOW
(I warned you)

This is a picture of me flirting with my wife at the grocery. I don't have a policy about wearing a tie to do my shopping, it's just that we were getting home from work. It counts as flirting because artichokes are not only delicious, but also a flower related to the thistle.  Also, I like to say "the grocery" instead of "the grocery store" as the latter is technically redundant, and when I say the former, it makes me sound fancy. If you ever actually talk to me in person, I will likely forget and say, "grocery store" like a normal person.

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My wife is rad.

Megan is a bilingual elementary teacher, currently teaching fourth grade. More than anyone, she has helped and inspired me to become a better teacher.
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Megan has done lots of cool things at her school, like starting their composting program. One of the coolest was when she helped pilot the Google Expeditions program. This is a promo video she's in. She did the lesson on the Great Wall of China.

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Thomas, age three

Megan and I have two sons. 

​                                From 2018:
Thomas is t̶h̶r̶e̶e  ̶f̶o̶u̶r̶  . He thinks my name is
​"No! I said 'Mommy!'"
Theodore was born in April. No one can tell what he's thinking right now.

Thomas, age five with Theodore, age 14 hours.

...And my how time flies. 

Theodore was born in April, 2018. He tells everyone what he's thinking now.

Thomas loves to make comics. Here are some samples.

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Our family attends Saint Paul & the Redeemer. 

      We seek to "become a community that mirrors the radical hospitality of Jesus."

In 2017, Megan and I began to teach Godly Play, the children's formation program.

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I train and teach martial arts.

 I've been training in the Bujinkan since I started my master's degree in 2007. I studied Tai Chi in college, and a handful of other martial arts when I was younger.  My teacher is interested in the ethics of martial arts, so we have lots to talk about. He even has a book about it. Training in the dojo is Socratic in some ways, and I try to incorporate these aspects in pedagogical approach. I also teach my philosophy students some martial arts. It's good for waking students up in those 8:00 am classes. My instructor and I are planning a book about that too. In April, 2016 I made my pilgrimage to train at the hombu dojo, and earned my instructor license. I am now a shidoshi at Shingitai-Ichi Dojo. 

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Here's an interview with me discussing what our training is like at the dojo:

...And here's a slide show of me getting thrown around by people (and doing some throwing of my own).

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I was born in California, I grew up in Tennessee.

I moved to East TN when I was ten.  I attended Maryville College, where I met Megan (who, interestingly, was also born in CA). We met in the library (pictured)

Fun fact: The library is named for the railroad tycoon William Thaw, not his son Harry, who was involved in an infamous and salacious murder trial.

Megan and I are AmeriCorps VISTA alumni.

After college, Megan and I served in the AmeriCorp program working as community service coordinators at Jill Kinmont Boothe School in Bishop, CA. It's one of the most beautiful places I've seen.

Right before I started grad school, one of the bakeries in town put out a "help wanted" notice. When I was in the throes of dissertating -- and even now when the Chicago winter turns especially dreary, my thoughts turn to that road not taken. I still bake at home, though.

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