Answer:<\/strong> Break things down as much as possible, lead by example and use plenty of real-life comparisons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> Why did you decide to become a teacher?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> I\u2019ve always had a desire to give knowledge, but I have to say, I wasn\u2019t keen on becoming a teacher until college. Since then? It\u2019s been a burning desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: Why did you decide to teach at this school?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> I\u2019m an EHS alumni, having graduated from here in 2013. I did track and field along with cross country all four years, being captain of the cross-country team during the 2012 season. I also participated in Mr. Falcon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: Where did you attend college\/when did you graduate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> I went to college at Linfield University (then Linfield College) in McMinnville, Oregon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> Did you have any teachers growing up that impacted you in a way that made you want to become a teacher, negative or positive?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> Oh yes. Some are still teaching here, actually! Bob Bruce, Marion French, Brad Bellingham (who I owe so much to) and Shannon Hart (introduced me to sci-fi), to name a few. I even took a class from my own father, Forrest Cooper. Honestly, I don\u2019t think I could have had a better crew of teachers growing up. Simply not possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> What frustrates you most in the classroom?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> Something I learned from a teacher named Zach Allen a long, long time ago, is students putting their heads down on a desk. To me, that means they\u2019re not paying attention or showing respect to their teacher or peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> What aspects of teaching do you like and dislike?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> The value of giving or handing down knowledge to the next generation cannot be underestimated. As for dislikes? I can\u2019t just put my work away at the end of the day. My work comes home with me, almost every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> What were your original career aspirations before you chose teaching? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> I have a love of history, so I wanted to be involved in a museum or some kind of historical preservation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> Favorite teaching moment\/memory?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> Well, I\u2019ve only been here a few weeks so far, so I\u2019m still making lots of new memories, but one of my favorites has to be after I mentioned I had eaten a Domino\u2019s pizza after three days of being left out. The whole classroom went silent, then exploded in questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> What motivates you the most? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A: <\/strong>Honestly? Probably my girlfriend. I\u2019m not one to do things for my own sake, but if it impacts someone else, I\u2019ll have it done before you can blink. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> How would you describe yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> Definitely a historian. Tall, nerdy, and athletic. I love playing music with my dad, so I’m a musician as well! (I play bass.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> What are some things you do outside of teaching?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> I play a truly concerning amount of video games. However, I also enjoy reading books (one a day if I want to) and I love hunting in the fall with my dad. Sometimes my girlfriend and I will go on little vacations, and I love exploring new places with her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> Favorite quote?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> \u201cIt is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.\u201d \u2014 Teddy Roosevelt<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> Favorite song?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A:<\/strong> I could name 20 to 30, but here\u2019s one of my favorites: “American Remains” by The Highwaymen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> A person who inspires you and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A: <\/strong>I know it\u2019s a bit of a cliche, but my dad. He\u2019s just amazing at everything he\u2019s put his mind to, be that hunting, working, or building a deck. He\u2019s taught me every day of my life, and I wouldn\u2019t be who I am today without him and my mom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Former Falcon News reporter Kelsey Hemple contributed to this report<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" He says he values giving knowledge to the next generation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,27],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3051","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"category-staff-spotlight","9":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3051"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3468,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3051\/revisions\/3468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ehsfalconnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/29854B3E-DBBD-4C48-A970-6C1E7D170027-scaled-e1646327938413-1024x767-1.jpeg\")