Acknowledgements

I am a better teacher because of the time, resources, advice and guidance I have received from so many other fantastic teachers I have encountered.   If you would like the personal contact information of anyone on this list, please contact me via email.  Here is a short list (in chronological order only!) of those I wish to publicly thank:

Richard Heckathorn –  Dick is a frequent and extremely helpful member of the NSTA email listserv.  His website contains some of the most wonderful ‘tried-and-true’ curriculum you will ever find.  I have shamelessly borrowed from him and hope others will too.  I’ve never met the guy and he has helped me hugely.

David Byrum – Another genuinely kind and generous soul who welcomed me to my first international teaching position in Bangkok.  Within a 3 days of landing in Asia, David and his wife Judy took me to lunch, showed me the grocery store, and gave me charcoal tablets and mosquito itch cream.  On top of that, David has freely shared his resources, compiled over decades of teaching college and high school physics.  His website is full of awesome material.

Evan P. Silverstein - Another incredibly generous online ‘friend’, whom I’ve never met.  His worksheets and labs are extremely well written (and usually fit on one page!).  He gives them out free of charge and many of my students have benefited from his chemistry worksheets, which are based on the Regents exam.

Mark Nystrom – My chemistry supervising teacher.  The guy who gave me the knowledge that overseas teaching is a realistic (and awesome) possibility.  Thank you, Mark–you’ve changed my life (for the better)!

David Novak – A veteran teacher of Willamette High School, Dave was instrumental in the subtle art of classroom management and student motivation.  I will never forget his advice to periodically stop and (literally) whisper something.  It’s so fun to watch the kids lean in to hear what you’re saying.  David also showed me how to balance home and work life, which is something I am still working on.