Thomas White Biology / General Science Teacher

Who I Am Besides my obvious interest in the life sciences, I am an active musician, playing almost anything you can think of except for classical music. I have played piano since the age of four and have completed two albums of original jazz music to date. Music has had a huge influence on my life. "For me a man's meaning, the reason he has to keep on living, is that were he to live thousands of years he would never fulfill all his possibilities, never communicate or create all he is capable of. So he must use what time he has creating now for the future and utilize the past only to help the future, not as a razor strop for guilts and fears that inhibit his very being." --Nat Hentoff, written to Charles Mingus

Why I Teach (1) One thing that Nat Hentoff was trying to get across to Charles Mingus is that whatever your beliefs are, it is certain that our time here is limited. We need to make the most of the time we have now to help our futures. The past should only be used to help the future. This is why I don’t hold grudges, and why I won’t let students’ past performance dictate their future performance.

Why I Teach (2) The people in my life who have most inspired me have all been teachers. This includes my father (who is also a high school biology teacher), several great high school teachers I had, and several excellent piano teachers I have had! I want to have the same effect on my own students. I began teaching piano when I graduated high school and loved the feeling of putting students on a path to success and accomplishment. Their successes began to feel like my own. I want my students to remember me years later not simply for the science I taught, but for the life skills and lessons I instilled.

Philosophy of Teaching (1) At the start of the year, I also set down an authoritative groundwork for student behavior, with clear systems set in place so students understand the rewards and consequences of their actions in my classroom (McRae Lecture 29). After this, I tend to be managerial with the class as a whole, minimizing misbehavior and using preventative discipline (McRae Lecture 10). Misbehavior in science classrooms is not only disruptive; it can be DANGEROUS. This is why I aim to prevent all undesired behaviors before they occur or become worse.

Philosophy of Teaching (2) Many of my lessons tend to be folkloric in nature. Science develops only when risks are taken and new ideas tried out. Oftentimes I insist that students “try it” until they come up with plausible answers (McRae Lecture 28). This approach has served me well as a private piano teacher. My style changes up a bit when I deal with students as individuals. I take a humanistic approach at this point, to try to understand what makes a student unique as an individual and what motivates them (McRae Lecture 16). Most of my best teachers took the time to get to know me as an individual, and were therefore more effective with my learning. I aim to do no less.

Classroom Rules At all times, show RESPECT for yourself, your peers, and your teacher. Be RESPONSIBLE for all your actions. Be HONEST with yourself, your peers, and your teacher. Give what you do your best EFFORT. Always FOLLOW DIRECTIONS that your teacher gives. Be mindful of your TIME MANAGEMENT skills when planning ahead.

Rewards / Incentives “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” In high school, the rewards a one finds for being a responsible student each day should be beginning to become more intrinsic than extrinsic. I do not believe that the list of tangible teacher-provided rewards should be a long one. That being said, I do understand that some extrinsic motivators may add incentive for students to achieve at higher levels. I intend to give students 5 extra credit points on each test if they have completed all their homework from the time period from the last test to the current test. Three consecutive quiz grades over the grade of 90 will earn the student a homework pass for them to use at their leisure.

Consequences for Misbehavior My procedure for handling misbehaviors is thus: 1.Use proximity and eye contact to make the undesired behavior stop. 2.If this fails, give a firm verbal warning to the student. 3.If the behavior continues, assign one after school detention, and notify the parent of the misbehavior immediately. 4.If the behavior continues, and is disrupting the class or putting students in danger (especially during laboratory activities), the student will be removed from the room and sent to an in-school suspension. Especially in a science classroom, keeping misbehavior to a minimum is of utmost importance for the safety of students. This is why I insist on being firm and clear about the consequences for misbehavior.