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. This page exists to convince people who do not know who I am that I'm someone they would want to spend time around - or at least that if I end up in the office next door, I will not be insufferable.  The people who already know me have more or less made up their minds on whether or not I'm insufferable. This mostly means potential employers who may have stumbled upon my website while researching to determine that I am not wanted for questioning by the authorities. Hopefully my smarmy comments will not undermine this goal, but I take solace in the thought very very few people will read this, and maybe they will think it's funny? 

---

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.
​

---

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.

---

Thomas, age three

Megan and I have two sons. 

​ Thomas is t̶h̶r̶e̶e  ̶f̶o̶u̶r̶  five. 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.

---

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.

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

---

Our family attends Saint Paul & the Redeemer. 

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

---

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)

We 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.