Connected Academy

Matthew Johnson

Social Studies Teacher

Connected Academy

I’ve been a teacher for seven wonderful years. I plan on being a teacher for at least seven more, unless I become independently wealthy as a novelist and short story writer - every person has got to have a dream. And even when I reach this dream then I might still teach, because it is the best job in the world.

One of the first things students learn about me is that I love to travel. Most of us probably do. When I tell my students:

· I love history.

· I love to read.

· I love to write.

· I don’t have cable.

· I don’t have a microwave.

· I don’t have internet access.

· I watch 1 hour of TV a month.

· My news comes from the radio and the newspaper.

· And that my house is almost 100 years old.

Many of them say, “Ugh!” Then they say, “Mr. Johnson, you need to get a life.” “What do you do?” they ask. I usually put a confused look on my face and then tell them that so far I’ve:

· Almost died in the middle of the Grand Canyon

· Climbed the Tetons

· Summitted the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia

· Traveled by boat and on foot into the rainforests of Borneo to camp and plant trees for reforestation.

· Bungee Jumped and Zorbed in New Zealand

· Surfed in Australia

· Canoed for four days through the Okefenokee Swamp

· Backpacked much of the Appalachian Trail

· Been shot at with tear gas and rubber bullets in riots in Hungary.

and

· Slept in villages in Malaysia, taking my bath out of trashcans for two weeks

Then, I agree with them and say that I do need to get more of a life, but at least I’ve made a pretty good start, and all on a teacher’s salary. I like sharing these types of adventures with students. Leading student trips in the summer to places like Australia, or Greece, or Costa Rica, has allowed me to witness the best thing a teacher can witness, young students becoming world citizens and real-world learners. I see Connected Academy as a place where my passion for the social studies; hard work, perseverance, and imagination from the students; and the real-world can come together to make some great and memorable things happen.