SPYY – Technology for Players

Teachin’ School, Throwin’ Yo

so i have a new job. and, at least in some small part… i have yo-yoing to thank for it.

i’m a school-teacher again. although, i suppose one could argue that one doesn’t ‘stop’ being a teacher, for the past 18 months i’ve stayed home with my little guy, alex. watching him learning to toddle around and communicate has been one of the most fulfilling experiences imaginable, and the two of us have bonded in ways that i never could have hoped for had i continued to work. he’s a ‘big boy’ now though; ready for school… and so am i. from the moment i left my last post, i knew i wasn’t ‘burnt out’; that if the right opportunity presented itself, i’d be ready and willing to get back into the classroom.

well, a few weeks ago… ‘the right opportunity’ called me up on the phone. the lower/middle school director of a local independent school had received my resume (not sure from whom, having saturated local schools with them in recent weeks). we had a great phone conversation and talked about teaching and sports and… yo-yoing. because, while i’ve got 9 years of teaching experience under my belt, all the right things to say about classroom management, and can throw down just fine in discussing “gardner’s multiple intelligences”, what really made my resume noticeable… was our favorite little spinning toy. every resume has to say a little something about the person it’s describing, and, being a person of somewhat ‘discombobulated’ extracurricular interests, mine included some stuff about surfing and martial arts and (of course) my dedication to the ‘noble disk’.

he brought me in for an interview (by his own admission, just so he could tell people that he interviewed a ‘return top champion’ for the job. obviously, we talked about all kinds of things, and the more we talked, the more it became clear that the school and i were a perfect fit. i visited a few classrooms, where i was introduced as a teaching candidate AND a professional yoyoer, and was met with awe and cheers as i stumbled through some tricks with sweaty palms. my red powdercoated signature flying v elicited ‘ooh’s and aah’s’ from one and all (deservedly). now, i’m a pretty interesting guy, and i feel like i have plenty to offer a school… but i’m fairly certain that the ‘in’ provided by the whole ‘he’s a professional WHAT?’ thing made me substantially more memorable.

when asked back again to teach a sample lesson to a third grade class, it seemed only natural to go the route of some ‘conceptual rotational physics’. i passed out some responsive plastics and we talked about friction, inertia, and gravity (but really just played with toys). having taught similar lessons hundreds of times, it would have been pretty tough to totally blow it. i did not; i did my thing. there were more ‘oohs and ahhs’, and i felt great, both about my prospects and about the position. in the weeks that followed, i visited the school a few more times and taught some more lessons (evidently i had to prove that there is, in fact, more to me than yo-yoing… no there actually IS. for serious.)  finally, after nearly a month of nail biting and nervous ticking, i was offered a job – not teaching 3rd grade, but 5th/6th grade science, which is right in the wheelhouse of my past experiences.

would i have landed it had i not been a reasonably worthy exponent of ‘the retro-winding double-knobbed toy’? i certainly hope so. i won’t self-deprecate -  i’m a really good teacher. but there are actually a lot of ‘really good teachers’. no matter your field, there has to be something interesting about you that sets you apart; that lets you communicate freely about your passions. throwing has helped become me to become more fun and interesting, and those are valuable traits in a professional educator.

so, yeah. i could NOT be more ecstatic now, both to be a teacher again, and (moreover) to be able to ‘do my thing’ at a school where i know they’ll value my more unique skills and attributes… i’m continually shocked by what i’ve taken from [somewhat obsessively] throwing this ‘child’s plaything’. it’s enhanced my work ethic and patience. i’ve traveled to new places and met more dynamic and generous people than i ever knew existed. i’ve even made some pretty decent folding money… and now, a tiny one-line allusion to it has helped me land a dream job… crazy.