Hi. I’m Mike. I have been an educator for over 30 years. My roles in education include classroom teacher, coach, instructional lead teacher, teacher on special assignment, and K-5 mathematics program specialist at the Georgia Department of Education. These roles span all grade bands, from elementary to middle school, and high school. I also spent a few semesters teaching mathematics courses for pre-service teachers as an adjunct professor at Mercer University. I earned my Master’s Degree from West Georgia College in 2002 and my Specialist Degree from the University of Georgia in 2019. I am fortunate to have presented at local, state, regional, and national conferences across the United States and I currently work as a consultant with schools and districts to improve mathematics teaching and learning.
Under the Dome was started in 2013 as an exercise in reflection, creativity, and sharing as coach in Henry County, Georgia.
More about my professional experience: My CV
My Core Values
Family
I am very fortunate to have been raised in a nurturing, loving, and caring home with two incredible parents, and five amazing siblings. I strive to replicate all of what I experienced as a child in every aspect of my life, with my own wife and children, with my colleagues, and with the students, teachers, and administrators with whom I work.
Appreciation
This is one my main goals at this point in my career: I want to deepen everyone’s understanding of and appreciation for what it means to teach and learn mathematics. I have this posted on my wall in my office to remind me that everything I do should attend to this goal.
Empowerment
In school, I always questioned myself. I lacked confidence in mathematics. I didn’t really feel empowered until I started teaching and I actually gained a deeper understanding of mathematics from listening to my students’ reasoning. This is when I realized I could use their understandings (and misunderstandings) to empower them in the same way they were empowering me.
If you’d like to know more…
- I have a beautiful wife of 27 years and we have two amazing children, Connor and Lura. They are all referenced in some of my earlier blog posts.
- I’ve had an interest in magic (sleight of hand) since I was about 8 and been studying this performance art on and off since I was about 16. I have performed for schools and church groups, but mainly for my family (my biggest and favorite fans). 😀
- When I was about 4 or 5, I would wait for my Dad to get home from work so we could watch Superman (the old TV show starring George Reeves). I’d sit with him on the floor and bug him with the question, “When is he going to change into Superman?” He never got tired of me asking and he sat with me every day. I’m still a huge Superman fan, but the real Superman was my Dad! Oh, and my Aunt Fran made me a cape with the “S” on it for Christmas when I was 5 (I still have it!).
Thanks for taking time to learn more about me!
