Hello and welcome to our class together! During our time together, I hope to explore beliefs about reading and writing, help you develop strategies for becoming a better readers and writers, help you develop a sharper focus on writing on the sentence and paragraph level, and to share the appreciation for reading and writing that drew me to teaching in the first place.
I imagine that you might be wondering about me, so I’ll introduce myself.
In December of 2019, I completed a Master of Arts in Teaching at Montclair State University. In addition to this degree, I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a Master of Arts in Business Management, and have studied Creative Writing, while working both in the private sector and for the government in different roles. I’m also a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps.
As you can probably tell, I’ve had a few other careers, but they never seemed like the right fit and none of them have excited me as much as my experience as a teacher so far. Prior to my employment as an English Teacher at North Hunterdon High School, I worked for Elizabeth Public Schools, where I taught at the Gifted & Talented middle and high schools – Terence C. Reilly School No 7 and Elizabeth High School – Frank J. Cicarell Academy.
Here in New Jersey, I am married to my best friend Gina, who is a Pediatric ICU Nurse, and we have two cats, while the rest of my family lives in the Midwest where I was born and raised.
Things I do for fun: I like to hike, camp, and I generally prefer to be outside when it isn’t unbearably cold or hot. I also consider myself an amateur photographer, although my photography has taken a backseat over the last few years. I’m an avid reader and longtime listener of podcasts, and you’ll generally find me listening to an audiobook or a podcast rather than music during my morning commute. I also like to run, a lot. In fact, I ran my first marathon in 2017, and hope to run another one soon.
With kind regards,
Mr. Shoemaker
