Who is Paul? (resume)
I began college as a Computer Science and Engineering major at the University of Toledo before I even touched a computer. I had heard about them and thought "these things will be the future." After a few years of never asking my advisor any questions (silly me), I decided I did not want to be a programmer for the rest of my life. I could do it, just did not want to. Since I never spoke with my advisor I did not see all the other avenues a CSE good follow. So I switched to another interest, Nuclear Engineering. Technically my degree is B.S Engineering Physics, Nuclear & Systems Theory. Big title. But I did love taking all of the Physics classes possible and my Senior Engineering Project was in Physics, helping plan & build a linear accelerator. I wish we had gotten it done before I left.
I went to work in the Nuclear Power Industry, working at plants in Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, Arizona & back to Alabama. I liked it and I liked seeing parts of the country. I had been coaching football since I graduated high school and had the idea of teaching rumbling around in the back of my mind. When I was in Alabama and we were between engineering contracts, I substituted at the high school to see what I thought. I liked it. I can do this, but not yet. Life throws things at you, and I needed to move back home. So upon moving back home I enrolled in Kent Stat University's Master of Arts in Teaching program. It is a 1 year accelerated program for second career people. But I don't think I was ready yet, so i worked to get back into the Nuclear Industry (not an easy industry to get in to) and got a job at Perry Nuclear about an hour away from home. A month or so into that, life threw another wrench. Mom had died shortly after I moved home, now Dad & I were living together and he had recently retired, but his health was failing him & he was heartbroken from Mom. He just didn't have it in him to go on. So it was good that I had come home. I got to spend time with them at the end. With him passing I had things to do and couldn't be an hour away at a job. So, time to become that teacher.
I substituted at a few schools for a while and finally got a job (thanks to the wife of a former high school teacher of mine) at Stark State College teaching Physics, Math, and Environmental Science. For five years, I spent all day at school either teaching or exploring this new thing called the World Wide Web. Oh my gosh. I could find anything that I wanted to know. I could read magazine articles without getting the magazine. But I really wanted to teach at a high school. I enjoyed the interactions & the extra-curriculars. I finally got a high school position at a school 10 minutes away. Awesome. Things were going well.....parents loved me, students loved me, the Superintendent loved me....the Principal (& probably a few teachers) did not. So it was off to another school. I landed at a school about 45 minutes from home. I was there 15 years working Physics and Mathematics.
My classroom shift started early and changed over time. That is what happens when you read and talk to people from around the world (blogs, wikis, podcasts, Twitter, conferences...). Less "homework". Fewer "grades". More Standards Based Learning and "maker". I like more & more hands on, building, creating projects. I am a tech geek, so we were always looking for whatever tool could help us with learning.
But I still wanted more for education. I left for a sabbatical. I wanted to explore Makerspaces and Maker Centered Learning more, get to conferences and visit people. It didn't last long. That fall my high school alma mater called asking if i would do a long term sub job in Physics and Coding/Robotics. After much discussion, I did and it was a very difficult year : a traditional school and a non-traditional teacher. But we all survived. I did get a more open sabbatical the following year. Then I found a company working to help schools implement Makerspaces and I went to work for them, for a few months. The fit just wasnt right, so they let me go and I came back home to Ohio. A friend at my local district contacted me asking if i wanted to do a long term 7th/8th Science job and I said yes. I could incorporate some Maker ideas, but it was pandemic time, so not all my ideas.
Now I am looking for where I really fit in the Education world. I want to help teachers and schools and districts incorporate Maker Centered Learning. Maybe it will be running a MakerSpace or Maker Van. Maybe it will be coaching others to incorporate Maker into all aspects of learning. Maybe it will be....
You can find me on :
Twitter @shirky17
email paul@paulshircliff.org
Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulshircliff/
I went to work in the Nuclear Power Industry, working at plants in Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, Arizona & back to Alabama. I liked it and I liked seeing parts of the country. I had been coaching football since I graduated high school and had the idea of teaching rumbling around in the back of my mind. When I was in Alabama and we were between engineering contracts, I substituted at the high school to see what I thought. I liked it. I can do this, but not yet. Life throws things at you, and I needed to move back home. So upon moving back home I enrolled in Kent Stat University's Master of Arts in Teaching program. It is a 1 year accelerated program for second career people. But I don't think I was ready yet, so i worked to get back into the Nuclear Industry (not an easy industry to get in to) and got a job at Perry Nuclear about an hour away from home. A month or so into that, life threw another wrench. Mom had died shortly after I moved home, now Dad & I were living together and he had recently retired, but his health was failing him & he was heartbroken from Mom. He just didn't have it in him to go on. So it was good that I had come home. I got to spend time with them at the end. With him passing I had things to do and couldn't be an hour away at a job. So, time to become that teacher.
I substituted at a few schools for a while and finally got a job (thanks to the wife of a former high school teacher of mine) at Stark State College teaching Physics, Math, and Environmental Science. For five years, I spent all day at school either teaching or exploring this new thing called the World Wide Web. Oh my gosh. I could find anything that I wanted to know. I could read magazine articles without getting the magazine. But I really wanted to teach at a high school. I enjoyed the interactions & the extra-curriculars. I finally got a high school position at a school 10 minutes away. Awesome. Things were going well.....parents loved me, students loved me, the Superintendent loved me....the Principal (& probably a few teachers) did not. So it was off to another school. I landed at a school about 45 minutes from home. I was there 15 years working Physics and Mathematics.
My classroom shift started early and changed over time. That is what happens when you read and talk to people from around the world (blogs, wikis, podcasts, Twitter, conferences...). Less "homework". Fewer "grades". More Standards Based Learning and "maker". I like more & more hands on, building, creating projects. I am a tech geek, so we were always looking for whatever tool could help us with learning.
But I still wanted more for education. I left for a sabbatical. I wanted to explore Makerspaces and Maker Centered Learning more, get to conferences and visit people. It didn't last long. That fall my high school alma mater called asking if i would do a long term sub job in Physics and Coding/Robotics. After much discussion, I did and it was a very difficult year : a traditional school and a non-traditional teacher. But we all survived. I did get a more open sabbatical the following year. Then I found a company working to help schools implement Makerspaces and I went to work for them, for a few months. The fit just wasnt right, so they let me go and I came back home to Ohio. A friend at my local district contacted me asking if i wanted to do a long term 7th/8th Science job and I said yes. I could incorporate some Maker ideas, but it was pandemic time, so not all my ideas.
Now I am looking for where I really fit in the Education world. I want to help teachers and schools and districts incorporate Maker Centered Learning. Maybe it will be running a MakerSpace or Maker Van. Maybe it will be coaching others to incorporate Maker into all aspects of learning. Maybe it will be....
You can find me on :
Twitter @shirky17
email paul@paulshircliff.org
Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulshircliff/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.