It seems I was always destined to become a teacher. I was consistently helping my friends with their homework. I was a merit badge instructor in Boy Scouts. When I was in high school on church youth group trips, I was a class instructor and a confirmation class leader.

Being a professional educator is by far the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Nothing is as exciting for me as teaching middle school students. I enjoy and thrive at the middle school level because it is the best place for me to prepare my students for their academic and athletic pursuits in high school and college. I have taught middle school classes for 15 years in the De Soto Unified School District. I teach "Museum Connections," an elective course using instructional artifacts. Our classroom museum contains over 20,000 teaching artifacts. My classroom credo is: "Explore your world; empower yourself and those around you; excel in everything you do." I feel called to teach and that our classroom museum is my second home.

Making social studies and history interesting for my students is very gratifying. Using my history and archeology background to enhance student learning allows me to connect the past to the present in my classroom. For the last 10 years, I have taught an archeology class at Johnson County Community College during their "Summer Talents Program". I also teach an artifact-based history of nursing course at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a teacher recertification course at MidAmerica Nazarene University. Teaching these courses enables me to help my students prepare for the projects and state assessments they will encounter in their academic future.

I have set a personal goal of teaching the social sciences, history, and life connections in my classes. Students take an active role in my classes. I use their input and opinions on class projects and lessons. This directly motivates them to work with me and learn planning and organizational life skills. Creating textbooks, asking unusual questions, designing projects, explaining strange objects, and teaching various learning strategies are all activities used in my classes.

I was honored and humbled to be the Kansas Teacher of the Year and one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year in 2004. I continue to work with my community to expand our teaching artifact collection and enhance my Museum Connections classes. My travels throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada have allowed me to accumulate various collections, including rocks, coins, maps, antique marbles, glass, and artifacts that I use to teach my students every day.

I live in De Soto, Kan., with my wife, Amy, (the lead secretary at Horizon Elementary) and our three beautiful daughters, Lane Claire (6 ¹/₂), Suzanna Caroline (5) and Katherine Aulana (3).