J. Thomas Son

One way or another I've been working with teenagers most all of my adult life. It's something I swore I'd never do when I was a teenager myself, but life is full of ironies. After various incarnations as mentor, youth leadership trainer, conference developer, curriculum writer and editor, I finally landed in the public high school classroom, a place I wanted to be a long time before I arrived. I've been teaching English literature and composition for nearly twenty years now, and I'm still loving it. Lately I've experienced the particular joy of extending the classroom into the community, helping high school juniors and seniors engage in meaningful service with the local agencies who do it best. I think the service learning is good for my students. I think working along side them is good for me.

After a variety of life and professional experiences, I'm not really surprised to be here at last. I believe in the intrinsic value of education, whether formally acquired or simply the accumulation of life experiences thoughtfully considered. For my part, I hold degrees in philosophy, history, intellectual history, religion, and religious literature. To say I love the classroom, then--and a good book, and thoughtful conversation--is probably less than necessary. What I will say is that I hope to communicate that love of learning to my students.