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1So just What attracted you to the school to begin with as a student and as a teacher as a student, I was in the fourth grade. I didn't really have a choice, but I was certainly excited. I remember that. Yeah, I mean when I got here in the fourth grade sure I love it. I guess I think it's got to be the same reason that.
2Kids that are here now like at least the ones I do like it is that you get to be around your your people your type. Right? Like people that are other people that are gifted and so that's what it was always about to me. I just this is just like that as a student and as a teacher, I mean. I actually you know, I had talked college and I didn't plan to teach high school, but I had made a change and it was I was looking for new jobs and I heard that the BC calculus teacher at Pineview is retiring and I thought wow that could be really awesome and it has been and I guess this is the only High School job I could imagine taking.
3Because you know high school students taking math. I mean students if I were if I were teaching I wouldn't want to be teaching a class that kids only took because they had to take it and there's not a lot of high schools where a teacher could teach all day and only be teaching students who want to take that class.
4So that was a pretty unique experience pretty. Situation for a high school teacher because so I thought yeah, okay to follow up questions to that. Do you do my relate the process of being admitted to the school at all? I have no I don't remember. No, I mean so it wasn't too memorable. It wasn't like a big deal.
5I mean every yeah, I remember taking a test at my district. School, I don't know. I don't remember. Is there like any particular teacher from your time at Pineview that you strive to emulate as a teacher? Oh, absolutely Beasley Myers might be some calculus teacher. Yeah, she was my inspiration to become a teacher and I still see.
6A few times a year, we'll have lunch just kind of catch up. She was around
7do I seek to emulate her? I don't know. I mean, we're very different people. But yeah, I mean, I think that she she and who else really great teacher Miss Jan off my healing teacher. I think that they don't know that I you know, and. Is this conversation that is helping me put this into words.
8What is it that the two of them really have in common? They they knew their stuff their subjects and they respected students and what I mean by that is not that they did whatever the students wanted or if they gave the students with everything wanted because there are. Teachers who think that that's the best way to be respectful is to just give kids whatever they want.
9But rather to give them what they need and treat them like people I mean gifted kids more so than other kids the same age have a need to be seen and treated. As adults and to build it but I think I you know, I picked that up from them. I picked that up that they knew the subject inspected the kids.
10And so yeah, I guess that's what I suggest. Oh, I'm just to be clear what during what years were used to and since when have you been a teacher I started here in the fourth grade fourth grade through twelfth. Graduated in 1997. So 1988 to 1997. And then I started teaching here in 2012 is my seventh year teaching having having gone through the hiring process.
11Is there anything that pain do you like Trevor sizes and teachers?
12Oh the hiring process. Well, sorry. I've also know these are great. I love this. And I've also I've been on the other side of the hiring process more often than on the committee's that interview that out there comes. No, actually no, there's always a committee. There's always going to be several teachers on the committee.
13It is obviously the principles called the end but I oh, yes my my. Was amazing. So I went into the interview is mr. Largo. So wait a second year of mr. Largo. I don't know I started in second grade. Oh my God. Yes, okay. Mr. Largo. This is Devoe long time pre calculus teacher and math department chair of the time.
14Mr. Kaminsky. Do you know him? Is he still here? No, he retired a few years ago. I remember he would have still been teaching Algebra 1 when you were in Algebra 1. And mrs. Abrams. So, you know where now is a substitute teacher but she was at the time assistant principal. Oh, yeah, because she wasn't no well, they were the committee and so mr.
15Kaminski had been my fourth grade math teacher believe it or not. I think about your fourth grade math teacher. And then think about being 33 years old applying for a job and having the billing company. Like I did not expect to see him there and then mrs. Abrams. She before being assistant principal was the art teacher and I signed up for art with her and then I dropped it because I could draw and the the the interview process for a public school.
16I. Like for any governmental agency to hiring process is like very rigid as far as like the kind of like you have to and ask questions. And if you ask one question of one applicant, you have to ask the exact same question with the exact same wording for everybody. Like every interview has to be exactly the same.
17But I remember I did have to actually answer a few math. The Department's your proposed but a lot of the conversation was about how do you deal with problems that might pop up in a classroom or what are your different philosophies? But the as what does Pineview look for gosh, I guess. I don't think it's going to be all that different from what most schools look for.
18I mean when you're interviewing people you're trying to get a sense of who they are and you know, are they qualified do they care about kids? Are they? I don't know. I don't know. I you know, you think that my view would look for something different from other schools. And I don't know what other schools are looking for, but I don't know I don't.
19I can't say that I picked up on anything. That would be like some great answer that question. Would you consider to be the school's purpose? Well, we have a mission and I think that the mission actually summarizes our purpose pretty well. I mean, we're trying to provide the best environment. For gifted kids to learn and that incorporates a good social environment.
20I think that that's the one thing that my view has consistently been successful at over. The years is Pineview kids feel more safe and comfortable here than they would in other schools. It's not perfect Crystal. But it's not as bad as I
21was just asking what's its purpose what's his purpose? So I think it's providing a providing a space where intellectually gifted kids can play academically. That's the ideal the word play. I use the word play right there and you're smirking because it's not actually no, it's like it's like this.
22That's the word that's what it should be. I think that because of a lot of factors and I don't think it's primarily driven by the school actually, but just a lot of factors that the play has dissipated the work has taken over and the sheer quantity of work that our students do it's not playing maybe it still is for the elementary schoolers, but I.
23I think I think what our the reason why we should exist is just to provide that environment. It's unfortunate that in a lot of ways. We're really just preparing kids for college and that's different. I mean it's related, but it's different
24can those two goals. You know contradictory at times they are contradictory. They don't have to be but they have been I mean because College Prep, I don't know. It seems like it seems like we're focused more on quantity of work that quality and I would like to see his Chevy there, but it wasn't as bad.
25I mean it really wasn't like the the. There was one kid in our class that took six AP classes one year and we were all like, what are you doing? When are you going to sleep? I thought a dozen kids with 6ap. I got more than a dozen kids with 6 AP classes. Like that's not normal. It's not necessary.
26The college is stop like like they don't even count past a certain. You're like if you have 10 or 15 or 12 like we're going to cap it at like 10 or 8 or whatever and we're not going to count the person to 15 as having more than the person with a because we don't want to encourage that and yet it persists.
27Everybody kills themselves over just doing too much work and I just look at it and it's like when did this happen? How did this happen? Who's responsible for this? I'm and then here I am teaching one of the hardest classes on campus dumping some of the heaviest workloads on my kids, but I. Because it's the only way you're going to learn this stuff.
28And if you take a couple of classes, this intense can probably handle it to take six inches. I don't know and yet that's become the norm here. Whether were there like more or fewer barriers to taking AP classes when you're a student, but definitely more barriers in the sense that the I mean the teachers picked got to take the classes.
29They were vestiges of that up until a couple years ago now just when I stick but I got here the process for choosing who took calc BC. I would sit down with every pre calculus teacher. We would go by student by student. Where do you think they should be what are their grades one of them? Like we had a whole Professional Day set aside, but that was what we did.
30We just went through all these kids. Where should they be placed and we don't do that. I mean when I was I remember when we did classes, so the way that we did class registration was completely different. I kind of wish we could return to them. They would create the entire master schedule and give every student a copy.
31This was in May and then the last week of school. I was like one day it was wild Sarina schedule. So all the teachers will not all the teachers, but. I think they would do like maybe each department had a table or something like that in the gym. So the math department had a table there would be a couple of the Math teachers at the table the science department, whatever death adopted.
32Ah, the seniors would go first period and what they would do is they would randomly select randomly selected name on the list then Hostetler your first and then you go alphabetical from there down to Z and then starting back up for me. And that was the order they would they would send in a batch of like 20 kids at a time the kids off of already had their master schedule and it says and this was a bigger deal than because there were fewer students fewer sections more conflicts.
33So BC calc is offered periods, five and six and AP chem is offered period 4 6 AP Lang is offered. 1 4 so in order to get everything I want it has to be this way and the one I really have to if I don't get into 6. B sea cow, my whole schedule is messed up. So they would have it planned out as soon as I get to the door.
34I run to the math table. I give myself in 63 BC calc. Then I go get my science class in fifth period and that was when we did it and put the thing is though the teachers had already also approved who could take the AP. So, I mean presumably you would know ahead of time. Like don't try to sign up for BC calc nose, like already said you can't take it but that was the system and it was it was wild and I know how efficient it was but part of that was yeah, I mean you had to be on the list.
35So like my try to like, oh, well, I know that the math table it's not going to be mr. Ness like there. It's going to be mrs. Percy. Maybe she won't know that I can't take these eat now. She would have to list like, you know, so. The yeah, there were definitely a lot more barriers because the teachers determined to take the classes.
36We just were not allowed to do that. Well, I just described. Oh that was when I was a student. Oh, no, since I've been teaching here, it's been basically the way it is now with the exception that you know, as we were able to say no, we don't. You're prepared for this class. And now we we have we have less ability to do that and they might not be a bad thing.
37I mean teachers resisted that change but I don't know it's not that bad. Is there more push for like acceleration and general for students to be allowed access to acceleration of the moment. Yes. And in fact, I think that that might actually be happening even more coming up. I mean some I just came from an AP teachers me.
38One of the things that we threw out there was like here we got some sophomores a tp-link this year. Maybe that should be a thing like let's talk about that next time. So yeah, I mean like that's the sort of I think that more advancement is the trend and I don't know I guess I guess it's a matter of doing it right.
39I mean taking 6 AP classes junior year. I don't. Let's talk about maybe maybe more classes a little earlier. So you're not taking as many more 12. That was one of the things that the suggested by public insurance. It's like something we're going to think about but now the pushed accelerations
40and you're an AP teacher who has to obviously receive these students who are getting more and more accelerated enough. They do think they're prepared generally. Oh, no, that's another issue just accelerating in math. Like I accelerated myself. And so I have to watch what I say because the fact is that there are kids for whom it is a good thing to accelerate themselves, but for a lot of snot and I see I had wasn't in your period but maybe it was but we I.
41Kids are working. I just overheard somebody say kind of accident taking Algebra 1 algebra why but now I don't know if it's true but like and it's I mean, you know, it's unfortunate because there's so much like there's so much pressure like it's the cool thing to do and. No, the cool thing to do is to enjoy your summer.
42Take the next math class when you go back to school. Yeah, I said Come online. I feel like disabled now. It's pretty bad. And I remember they try to do it FLVS Crackdown a few years ago. So they had these kids who would like I remember this kid was like I have to take Spanish 3 on campus next year.
43I'm taking Spanish to online. I don't know any Spanish. I'm like ha ha ha. You know sucker like you should have just done it for real and not try to take the easy way out. Like I don't know I could see it if I were in their shoes as a kid. I certainly would have done it but I don't like well, I don't think this class is important.
44So I'm going to take it online and then I can take the next class. Oh wait, you mean I needed to know?
45This
46completely go off on can I do the same thing? I'm not I'm trying not to do right now. I'm just trying to. It's more material good. So when we also interviewed like mentioned that they feel the school has lost much of its individualism. How do you feel the school has changed in the years that you spent at it?
47And you know, how do you feel a loss of individualism? I'd
48have to agree. Okay, give me a minute. I'm going to find a picture that was going to show up on your audio. I desperately I don't know. I have so many other things going on. I never got around to decorating this classroom and I moved into over two years ago now, but today I just need
49to actually I like your classroom. I think it's like interesting where you put your. Well, it's more about not having anything on the walls. Yes. This is my BC Calculus class in the yellow building. Which one is you? That's me right there. Now the one with the hat, but the one with the big hair your hair is nothing.
50It was poufy. I mean like that's this is the 80s, right? This is the 90s or something. I was gonna say it's not that. But Mike is Dave Dave's got the light to this is a cutout of Fabio who was a thing in the night. And that's Dave with his long hair and like the other guy like the guy with the dreads was late to class.
51So he wasn't in the picture. But like I do think that my friends then were a little bit more. I don't know where. Was there more individualism is there less individualism now, I think so. Yeah, I think I would agree with that. I think it's more like people call Cobalt prom. It's not from its Cobalt.
52It was originally an anti-prom. I mean it was you know, why it's called Cobalt it was in the chemistry teachers room. When all the dancing was just in the chemistry. It was in the chemistry teachers room. That was where it was. There was there were not a lot of people presumably spilled outside. I guess I don't know there was a portable sound and and the atomic number for Cobalt was the portable number was cute.
53So I said we should we should revive it. We should start lanthanum. Yeah, I think the way it's element number 57. I already said probably experience cab. So like I wouldn't all right. The individualism of other science who dies and that's it more and respect to like how the school is administered.
54You know, the way Rick Elam works the way classes are conducted away. Okay organized in general. It is more automated. I guess you would say now so in that sense of individualism.
55Yeah, I mean we have a little yeah, well I'm thinking in my immediate answer was no because I'm focused on my own classes, but when you expand out generally yes, I think there's I mean there's always been an AP test any conductance and it has. There's so many more standardized testing the below that I mean, we had one a year.
56It was I think it was called FCAT. We didn't have you know, there was no eocs anything like that. So there's a lot more focused on test prep in the lower courses. Oh, yeah. That's a big change. Like I remember vaguely remember of classes like geometry. Super to like what was just what the teacher wanted to do.
57And I that that sort of Freedom can be really great. It was it's been a trend, you know, governmentally not just in Florida, but Nationwide for more standardized testing test everything all the time. It's not just a tiny thing. But yeah, I mean. Definitely changed a lot. I mean it wouldn't be all that different teaching these classes that I teach but yeah, the lower level classes that has definitely changed.
58A lot of people have described Pineview like especially as founding as like a hippie school like very specific almost utopian Vision. Like it's lost a lot of that. Do you think um hippie I see it's so funny the 50th Anniversary logo. I mean, it's. Born in 1969 a year of Woodstock. I mean it's an iconic ear.
59And so it makes sense that they're doing those tiebacks. But the first time I saw mr. Schwag wearing his tie-dyed 40th anniversary shirt that also had a similar logo. I just laughed because I had never thought of planky that way I never thought of Pineview is a hippie idealistic place. I didn't appreciate it when I was a kid and then when I came back here it has changed.
60And it's funny when I when I first thought that like was it ever hippie idealistic. I think that weird hippie. I don't think you could use that to describe find you even when I was a student there is there was a very big ship though changing the campuses because if that was a real shift in our identity because the old campus was.
61It was like all the Portables leaks in like 10 different places. Like there was no way to walk because there were no awnings anywhere. There were there would be like giant puddles. I mean you'd walk on the floors and they Creak like it was just all of the leftover Portables that they dumped onto and like an abandoned lot and our.
62It was you just look around and it was like trees and rotting old wooden Portables. It was so wasn't particularly it was it was us against the world Pineview was the no not well funded Pineview was the little guy and we had to fight every year to stay open. The district was like wanted to shut us down.
63I remember when I got here to teach. Did you have mrs. Gorman great. But first impression of her all she will all she did was see what she was still I think at that point pretty new to Pineview. She had transferred from it like Riverview like that and she was like her whole thing was like, oh, yeah, we take like that's what you know, we take all the good students.
64And so the Riverview teachers will have been students anymore and I'm like, oh Pineview exist so that Pineview. Have a better life not because it was students can see that to intimidate but it was shocking to me, but that's the reality of the way that people in the community perceived Pineview is we are stealing the good students from the other schools.
65And so all the other schools are like, it's Remind You It's the Rhythm that was that was every year like there was there would be rumors like that. I don't know. So yes at the old campus we were the underdog in the fight to stay alive. Finally got the new campus and it was coming to the new campus that that just shifted because we walked we walked in and you know, everything was brand-new brand-new beautiful buildings.
66It was at that time the best-looking Campus of all the high school campuses and yeah. Was it that was the big shift? So now you could not use the word hippie to describe the 1981. There was the underdog mentality still that I think hippie. I don't know what I believe but there was still an underdog sighs.
67That's
68not just to other schools still complain about. Understeer install. Is that still the problem? I don't know. I mean, I I don't really I don't really talk to teachers at other schools. I mean, I remember mrs. Gorman saying that from a perspective of somebody who had taught most of her career at other schools in the district that she's gotten
69so I don't know you're just saying like while you were a student it was sort of more of an active threat of this point definitely isn't yeah. Yeah. Oh no. I mean that's that that is Pineview certainly has plenty of enemies but it's not I don't think it's the same sense. Obviously, we're here. Why do you think the school board came to play Capper was Financial audits?
70Oh, well, I don't know and I would really like to know more about the actual founding of it and I have no idea. I mean, I know mrs. Braun now is in charge of the archives and so she might be the. Some to go to for that. Oh, I tried to ask her about the archives and better and more of those buildings and that like construction are all right.
71So their Lily not going to be accessible until they build a new building in the woods, which is going to be in like two years. I mean, I might come back out of interest. But yeah, I don't know anything about the family.
72But I just like overall how did it feel to be a student on the old campus? How did it feel to be a student of the old campus? So I was there from I started in the fourth grade and it was winter break of my ninth. You never moved. So how did it feel
73it's hard for me to extricate my feelings about the campus from just what it was like living at that age. I
74never went to middle school on this campus. I did all my middle school on that campus was a middle school that I'm thinking of is it the campus that I'm thinking of but it was it was it was small. I mean it was like it was small enough that once you've been a student there for a couple of years.
75You knew every single. Square inch of the campus like
76because the student body was smaller. There will generally only be one teacher for a given subject. So like everybody had basically all of the teachers so you could talk to any of your classmates and they would know that teacher like that's not the case anymore, right? Oh, what about dr. Beane's class City.
77Well, I have his life. It's not the same right? So I think. That's one of the things that I remember is that it was more like they were a hundred kids in my class class of 97 year the largest graduating class ever at the time and I knew them all friends of them all but I knew them all and yeah, I think that so how does that relate to it being?
78The old campus. I don't know. I think it's just it was it felt much more like a community and I think that was just a function of it being fewer people and a smaller area and also the shared experiences of you know, rainy days. I mean rainy days was like that was what kind of bra. Together
79it's just the common experiences of being in the Leaky Portables and you know stomping through the puddles and everything. I think that it being smaller and less well-built helped form a little bit of community. It seemed like it kind of that the growth and like the sort of associated loss of individualism.
80Do you think that's any way of voidable giving given the increasing student population? Yeah growth is even though we've actually been dropping slightly. The last few years growth is always going to be. His number one priority because that's the person from from where they're looking at things more students means more money.
81I mean if we lose students we have we're way over capacity, but I guess if we build a new building we won't be that's the way that Administration is going to always look at things. They're always going to try. To Rome student body so is a loss of individualism is that just unavoidable? I don't know
82loss of the ability for teachers to plan individually. We've already talked about how there's just more standardized testing. But
83the question was kind of a weird question. I was just asking is there any way to avoid loss of individualism wait, a loss of individualism with an increase with increasing population. It seems like it should be possible to avoid that but I think that in order to truly be able to avoid that I think.
84There I don't know. I mean it has to be it's I don't think it's a quantity of students thing. I think it's a cultural thing. I mean, I think that we have established a culture of there's you know one right way to do things take a lot of AP classes to a lot of clubs have a sport have a. This have that don't sleep.
85Like
86there are there would take I think a concerted Push by at least some teachers or just other members of the communities to try to encourage that but I don't see that happening. I mean on a theoretical level. I don't think it has to be unavoidable but. Practical level. I think that's something that's not unique to Pineview or even to schools.
87I think it's just the general idea of an institution once it's created and it evolves what happens the same thing. I think you could spot similar trends at new College. They haven't grown as rapidly as we have. Well, they're in a growth spurt now, but when I was a student there, I remember there was a kid who was it was a guy who would go to class shirtless.
88Like that was whatever. That was what he did like like I think would fly it was just like the the. As organizations mature, I think that that may be available. I found out today actually that there was a period of time where Pines and Alta Vista were just neighboring schools. Yeah the entire time we were on the old campus.
89Yeah. So how did the schools like connect? Oh, they didn't condensed. They just once we moved off of the old campus. They just demolished all the Portables. It was that an empty lot. Oh my God that I just mean like while the schools were neighbors. How did this we were just neighbors we were at the same school.
90Oh, yeah, we did since we didn't have a cafeteria at Pineview anybody who wanted the cafeteria havenít of the Altavista country. That
91was very cute kids. Integrate with the middle just happened to be next door to each other. You were only ever there while mr. Largo was principle would mr. Largo started his principle the same day. I started as a fourth grade student. I was going to ask about like it's so hard to find information about like the founder.
92Mr. Woolever. Yeah. The only the only place I would send you is Tim is Bronn. I don't know who else to send.
93As I have no idea about the founding. I don't know. I really know nothing about my view prior to my time, which is mr. Douglas. Oh no, have you how have you noticed maybe like
94what have you noticed those common characteristics between students while you were a student and as a teacher? True. So how are students
95the same still smartasses?
96And I love that like
97they still don't put up with bull shit. They can sniff it out the teachers that don't know what they're talking about. Like the students know who those
98on gifted kids just good. They have good bullshit detector beeps. You said you used to be a college teacher like more so than the average college student there. It's completely different situation what sure because in college, so.
99In college, you're an adult who's paying to show up to something and so like if you don't want to be there, you just don't go you don't go to class. That's there's no such thing as a disruptive student in the college class like you just you just stay home. Like there's nobody forcing you to do anything and so it completely changes the dynamic like the idea of a wiseass.
100College student like
101it if you get it doesn't really there's no such thing. Like you can be a wiseass on your own time, but for like somebody in a college class to like tell like say I don't it's they're adults. They're not kids like it's just different. So I. I have grown to really like the relationships that I have with students here.
102Although at the beginning of his weird because at the beginning I was accustomed to college where it's like, okay, I'm an adult. You're an adult. I know Matt. I know more math than you do. But otherwise we're peers and so that was kind of my Approach at that time and to shift to where like the adult Mentor role model or any.
103It was weird at the beginning. I've become comfortable with her but it's it's a totally different relationship. And so how do Pineview students today? How are they similar to the way they were before when I was a student here. They're fun. They don't put up with bull shit. And
104yeah, I think that would be that would be the way that they've stayed the same and I. I know nothing about my students personal lives. I don't know who's dating who I don't want to know. I don't know any of that stuff. So I can't really know. I don't really know what life is like outside of school.
105I think life outside of school for kids today is what different
106those personality traits are there any elements that you would like ascribe to? A Commons hundred culture is such
107a thing exists.
108It's the bits that bumper sticker. So it's a backpack. That's that's fine do culture that. It's what's wrong with Pineview. But it's also the one thing that everybody can look at me like, you know, like I guess if you're looking for a Common Thread of Pineview culture, it's that it's that bumper sticker.
109That is the experience that everybody has here. It's unfortunate. But yes, that is that sleep. That's the common pint you culture right now. Not a not a happy one.
110Was there more to it when you were a student in Europe?
111I think is there more to it more because you're bunch of throws like a stronger sense. Community for sure.
112So how would I really had to the culture
113tighter Community but it doesn't it's not wavy we all loved each other and it just means we knew each other better.
114So was there like something that bound me to. The other members of my class the ones that I didn't like really I think that there is
115there was more of a sense of sticking it to the man being the system. There was that sense. I don't I don't that sense isn't there. More students like me lean more left. They do what they do. They lean more left like politically when you were asleep. It's interesting. I was I was completely oblivious to Politics as a high school student.
116I don't even think I know I mean. I guess I know yeah, I mean I'm thinking of kids now who I could identify identify as liberal or conservative, but at that time, I think there's your answer. It's politics were I don't know. It was just less of a thing. Like
117I feel like there are more. Yeah. Okay. My answer is there are more liberals and more. Adams among Pine Houston's the used to be like it might at least from my perspective and it just didn't even seem to pop up that much. I don't even I couldn't even really told you a liberal or conservative men when I was in high school.
118The reason I ask for clarification was just because you mentioned like that notion of like sticking it to the man just kind of political he it is political but your and it is I think definitely would you would consider that to be a left-wing sentiment and you mentioned the idea of. I'm calling mr.
119Siegel. I'm sorry. Mr. Siegel. He says all the time. Well, your Siegel is a hippie. I mean, I love the guy but that's like it's not a you know, it's not
120a bad thing. Yeah,
121maybe. It seems like I think of this as being a fairly conservative place, but then I'm always surprised. I mean, I'm always surprised by and I don't I'm very make it a very strict Point not to talk politics with my students at all. But during this interview, you know, I can reveal I'm definitely very much on the left.
122And so I note that like, how can I separate? What's happening at Pineview from it being the year 2018. No, but I don't know. It seems like I guess I'll stick to my earlier answer there seems to be more liberals and more conservatives, but it's it's a product of our time I. When I was in college in 2000, it was the first presidential election.
123I could vote it was gor versus Bush and the whole thing is like oh, well, I'm voting for the green party because Gore's basically the same as the Republicans that concept now is like and this is only 18 years later. I mean it was not as polarized like I would not have known you don't like we wouldn't have known.
124Somebody was liberal or conservative Republican or Democrat? Like I guess it's just more it's just more polarized now in general and so of course, there's more partisans on all sides is it but I don't know it feels like it feels like it's more conservative. Now. It just feels like the culture is more focused on college prep and the there's more there is more money here than.
125Used to be there's more parents that bribe their way into Pineview. I mean there are so and yes, so you're getting getting more. Well that tends to lead more towards conservatism is it probably is but I'm heartened by the fact that there is there are a lot of visible clubs and things that. Let's do that are
126progressive and that that's that's active and Alive like it was just less of everything political. What do you say students by no way to find you. Can you like expand on that? Well, so you have to get your IQ test and whatever to get in right? And I think the standard way is. You take that at school, but you can also hire somebody to give you the test and there are people in Sarasota in the Sarasota area and it's like that you have to be a certain kind of psychologist to be registered to give the test.
127But there are psychologists in town. It is known
128you can get your kid a hundred and thirty IQ. You really put your mind to it like yes, do you think that's common? I'm not talking one or two kids here. I mean, it's I mean, what did I put a percentage on it? I mean, it's not. Yeah, so like 50% or anything. I mean, but it's it's not just one or two kids.
129I mean, so.
130Entire time you spent the school like as a student as a teacher like how have you noticed demographics changing if at all, I do think that that people with greater wealth are more represented and I think it's because of the school gaining reputation and the people move to Sarasota from out of town out of state.
131Oh, yeah, see that. Because we were just you know,
13270 crumbling Portables like it was not like best all Florida accepts you get rained on and we might close every year like so that's that's that's why I mean that's why we have more money now. Well, that's why we well it's why we as a school have more money because we have more money to parents because they're moving here from other.
133Who can just pick up and move to another state because they like the school rich people. So so I would say that there is a higher proportion of wealthy people here. Now as far as demographics, it's never been racially diverse,
134but so actually probably hasn't changed that much just a little bit higher proportion. I think of wealthy people and you're saying that you know you. It's very thanks to parents moving and putting money into the school. That's had more money. Do you think like the increase in like rankings? Does that coincide with the district giving us the district doesn't give us anything more?
135No. Well, how about to the funding of the new campus? What was that? Well, that was well, the district has to build, you know, I mean, it's their job to make sure that the teachers and students are in. Goodbye. I'm not exaggerating when I say we had crumbling wouldn't portable that looked everywhere.
136So they obviously had to build a real campus. So it's not like those decisions for the buildings are it's not it's not like we think point you should be better. It's like I don't know exactly how they make those decisions, but the like the state in the district. I mean we get the same funds per dollar.
137As every other school. The reason why we have more stuff is because of the parent of Nations. Also my you can go through the TVA directly into the school. That's possible. Well, no, but the PVA pays for stuff like we have we have more teachers than we should because PVA writes a check for us to and for a few extra teachers other cable.
138You can go directly to the school. It doesn't I don't know exactly how that works, but that. Like we have more teachers than we should which means we can offer a lot more electives like otherwise, you know, I mean, you know, I don't know. What's the smallest classroom this year. There you go.
139Like, you know, if we didn't have the money for that then you would be filling his scheduled with like another class of 25 kids up something right rather than like of just 12 kids or so. That's what allows us to do that. But yeah, I don't know exactly how the it gets the money gets sent but pretty much I mean a lot of stuff if parents want to fund it will get it.
140So you said it's never been particularly diverse. Like why do you think that is senior? That's that's that's a society. Bigger than we can even get into but I think it's a combination of I think it's just people it's racial bias that pops up in every other corner of our society. I mean we are it's so culturally ingrained.
141Generation by generation it gets learned again. I learned it from my parents that
142this is the stereotypical attitudes that people have about people of races like just it just persists. I mean, it's so like, you know, I don't know I can't I can't give an answer why? Why is it that top schools have fewer Black and Hispanic students? Like it's it's a combination. I mean we could do more we could do more to reach out we could do more to proactively give tests and I think that they did that this year remember hearing something like that for this year, and I don't know.
143I haven't heard anything about it since last year when they were talking about it, so I haven't heard anything about that in. If that actually happened happens in continues to happen. That's great. That could be a step towards that and we need it but
144Black and Hispanic students are not identified as gifted as often. It's not because they're not it's because it's just because that's the way that not only I mean anybody everybody in our society. That's just the way it is and it sucks and I don't think it's right. You think it's just
145it's seen as being the way things are so that's the way things Stay On a related note. Like when you were on the old campus, what do you say split the old campus? I want to describe it as North Sarasota, but it was like Central leading. Yeah, just just north of bay Vista. So like kind of southeast of downtown the general area there.
146I mean you you are once, you know your your within a couple miles of the historically Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, but that was kind of my place. When you were on the old campus was it work was there majority of people kind of close to the campus just travel? No no. No. I mean it was still it was still countywide.
147So I had friends. I had one friend who lived in Inglewood that had to go up there like his bus ride was like an hour and a half each way. I went like one. Most
148people weren't from immediately surrounding areas. They just well no, I mean, you know that is in at that point. It was even more so the center of population like the growth that has happened since the 80's 90's has been in the not in that part of town but in like further east like. It was just a swamp.
149So the additional population has been like Central Southern Eastern County not the northern part. But so at that time a greater percentage of the population was closer to the downtown Sarasota area, but no there was so funny people from like North Koreans, but how do you think that's changed with the new campus?
150So I think it's probably I don't know I would imagine if you were. Apparent living in Venice or Northport or Inglewood. It would be a lot easier to send your kid here then back through downtown. So I would imagine we probably have a little bit higher proportion of South County people than you would have otherwise through that I asked about his because like the fact that Pine View has.
151You know, I kind of proportionally proportion of relating to the percentage of black and Latino students in the county at large. We have much lower than you would expect that kind of comes down to be like the broader issue of like School segregation, which, you know can be routed back to like housing segregation.
152So I'm just wondering how no Transportation played into that how that's changed, but it's kind of it's.
153Describe, I guess because even I like I sort of just know where I come from and how I travel I don't really know where my friends come from. Yeah. I don't know. So then the flip side is would somebody who lives the northern part of. Let's lately
154I guess that would be the flip side of that. I wouldn't have done the case. Yeah, I mean, it's just closer. I mean it's now farther and farther away from downtown Sarasota.
155That would be the flip side. Yeah, maybe maybe if you live up in North County or a little less likely to send your kidney. How do you think how do you interact with been weird? It's location like a spring, Sarasota County Florida as a whole
156interact with and represent our location.
157This school is I think the school is very Southwest Florida. I mean just the fact that we're all outdoors and you can't mistake that you're in Florida when you walk in between. Seems like it's
158Osprey. I don't think Osprey has an identity. I mean, it's just like a place on a map. But I
159mean, I guess I see point. He's been here before them like abstracts us like an abstract way. No in a very physical way. Real way when you walk around like I don't know. I don't know. Is there a good way to answer that question like that Florida? Like what is Florida mean like Florida now is like for to me and jokes right for a man gets his face eaten off by a panther while he's doing that but that's just my grief like that.
160Now, what is what is Pineview? What is Florida really and does finally reflect that? But it feels like Florida it probably feels like forever like the way our campus is set up. I mean if it were just one big building like most high schools are I mean that could be anywhere but yeah the fact that we have to traipse Across The Mucky quad and 95-degree heat like that's part of the.
161Florida
162like a present. How do you think part of you is evolving and how does it remain connected to its history?
163How is Pineview evolving? And how does it stay connected to its history
164think Pineview?
165This this is kind of what we're kind of going to we might be a bit of a turning point for Plan B because. It seems like I don't know what the 50th Anniversary we have. Like there was this committee formed where we're going to examine like what does it mean? What does it mean to go to Pi me? What does it mean to graduate from Pine View?
166That's one of the big things I should require of our graduates that could be a significant change. I mean, there's people are throwing around ideas. Should we require certain classes or the one big thing is prohibiting FLVS like is you have to take six real classes? If you want to take something else on my
167team that could be a mean depending on how things come out of that that you could be a real turning point. They could determine what how we sort of evolved
168and I don't know I mean or connection to. Our past I think it's pretty tenuous. You know, I mean here you are asking me and how many people can actually think back to that some not many. So I don't know how good of a job we're doing and staying connected to our history. And as far as how we're going to evolve like
169it could be we could go more of a college prep route we could go. Back to Basics we could go to more of a fun play Growl like it. I think that this year actually I don't I don't think it's clear yet which we were going to go but there is this sense that we've been kind of drifting for a few years.
170Like what's our actual Direction so I could see.
171I could see it going either way at this point just as a teacher like in your own classroom. What's the direction? You try to implement
172my
173my focus this.
174I feel I feel fortunate that I've been able to teach the same class of a teaching PC every year and I just get to fine-tune and so my priority this year. I mean, it's like I get really I get really granular with my priorities like the unit that you guys are working on right now. I'm giving it up more than I did last year II sort of every year I go back and I think okay.
175Can I what can I what can I do to make life a little bit better for my kids? Like can I make this a little bit easier and then I go back and see I made a little bit too easy because you don't really need to push him a little bit. So it's that constant give-and-take like just year after year. Just I look back and I think about what I did the previous year and I just try to tweak it a little bit and I guess the goal that I always have in mind is just optimization like doing the most efficient job of teaching the stuff that I can trying to respect the fact that you all have a million other
176things that you're doing. So I'm just really focused on like. The nuts and bolts of teaching the class like does this lecture need to be longer? I need another day on this like it's been very that's so as far as an evolution goes just a gradual evolution of just trying to Tinker and perfect things.
177I guess like optimizing to what. What do you think learning calculus does for students? Oh, what does learning calculus do for my students? Who are those two of them? I don't know. I mean the way I see it. These kids want to take PC calculus and somebody needs to teach it and I'm pretty good at it.
178So I might as well do it. I don't know what they're going to do with it. I mean. Probably most of my students know what they're going to major in but at least happen it will change because there's all kinds of Majors. You've never even heard of so hopefully at least a good number of the kids who are taking the class and joy, so hopefully the stress of preparing for tests doesn't crowd out all of the love.
179So, I don't know when I took BC calculus. I mean that was the year that really inspired me. I mean, I was good at math before that but I wouldn't have said I loved it. Yeah, I love math at the GPC cow. I don't know
180I wouldn't say that. That's my goal. I hope it happens. I think my goal is to just. The decision to take AP calc BC. I mean of course kids choose classes based on the teachers, but in a more broad sense, I mean the job is like, you know, this is here's my college board of course exam description.
181Like this is my this is my job. My job is to just. Do this like the best I can and so what do kids. What do I hope kids get out of calculus? I hope they get a five. Like I I know that that's not profound that is not profound at all. But the I don't think that I'm like,
182I don't think that I have any unique inspiration to. Like like I don't think that my opinion of what calculus is important for is more important than anyone elses. We can hopefully hopefully the kids enjoy it for what it is and if it's not enjoyable for what it is and it's just part of a longer-term goal.
183Well, hopefully I can at least make it. Decent experience my trying to inspire future mathematicians. Just hoping they have a good time and they learn something and like what can you think of as this most significant events in the history of the school while you've been here or like what are the most significant policy decisions that have impacted you personally
184significant impact.
185Obviously the big event was changing campuses.
186Are there any like regulations by the state of the county for digital education that you can think that I've actually made a big difference in how you do things? No.
187Occasionally, I don't think there's been any major changes. I mean we might have changes in admission and or what students are required to do while they're here, but that doesn't happen. Yeah,
188I know what's like, what are you. The most memorable things have happened to you in the school just in general
189being the official mascot of Thai team tie-dye. That was big. I
190mean getting the job. I mean, that's the I know that that's not what you're looking for, but. I don't know.
191I think my brains done. I'm sorry.