Paul Emerick

Hello! My name is Paul Emerick. I am an educator, a husband, and a proud father of two sons. I live in Loma Linda, CA and I work at Grindstaff Community School in Riverside for the Come Back Kids (CBK) program as part of Riverside County Office of Education. My goal is to help all students succeed inside and outside the classroom academically and to realize their future career pathway. America is a great and diverse country with students from many diverse backgrounds and learning needs. My goal is to help students be empowered to strive in overcoming their obstacles in life and succeed in things that would otherwise make them feel held back. CBK is great for students who are at that point in their lives where they are in the adolescent or early adulthood stage and are seeking a second chance to attain a high school diploma and explore new career pathways that match who they are.

One important aspect that seems to link education with student options for new career pathways is technology. I think it is important for teachers and students alike to create a productive digital presence because it can form a bond of communication between the two to facilitate in the learning environment. Some students who are into using technology will likely tend to grasp towards that direction in their pursuit of learning and I think it is good for educators to be open and supportive in using technology to communicate to those students about their learning curriculum and learning progress if it helps them achieve their academic learning goals. I also think that many businesses are wanting students who are considered 'tech savvy' to be able to demonstrate competence with as minimal training as possible in performing the duties and responsibilities that they would render to their prospective employers. That being the case, much of the responsibility, does lie in the education sector to train and familiarize students with technology to succeed inside and outside the classroom.

However, as an educator I also recognize that there are students who have various learning modalities and preferences in how they go about their learning. Striking this balance is difficult at times, but I often think we should give students choices in how they want to demonstrate what they learned (with or without digital technology), provided that the students are following curriculum to demonstrate what they have learned.