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. 

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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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