My Story
My story begins in Turner, Oregon, where I was raised on a small farm along with my brother and sister. During the school year, I attended Cascade High School where I took all the science courses I could, cultivating a strong interest in the subject. After school found me on the basketball and tennis courts, or running distances for cross county. Summers were spent either working with my father renovating houses, maintaining yards in the Salem area, or raising pygmy goats to sell. Whenever the chance would present itself, I would head off with friends to explore the Oregon countryside by way of backpacking trips.My college years were spent studying Biology and Chemistry in Corvallis at OSU, with a term off here and there to explore the world (South Pacific, Europe, Southeast Asia, etc...) with my friends. Summers were spent working with troubled inner-city youth at a camp in the hills outside Estacada. As my senior year neared its end, it occurred to me that my career pathway hadn't yet presented itself, so I took an inventory of my passions. I loved science, the way it revealed the inner working of the universe. I loved working with youth, the feeling that comes from positively affecting a young life in the same way that others had done for me. I loved challenges, believing that one should always put themselves in situations that offer opportunity for growth and improvement. I loved traveling, having realized the more you learn about others the more you learn about yourself. When I put all of this together, the path became clear; I was meant to teach!
Flash forward a year and with a masters of science education in my hands, I headed off to Hawaii to start my career as a high school science teacher at Moanalua High School. After three years, I moved back to Oregon with countless memories of a wonderful place and people, and more importantly, my amazing wife to be. When I was offered a job at Tigard High School in 2006, I immediately signed on and have never regretted my decision. In my six years on the job, I have discovered what a fantastic school, staff, department, and community this is. I have grown much in my profession, each year offering new challenges, each challenge overcome offering new lessons learned.
Though always evolving, my current philosophy on education is that students learn best when allowed to explore their subject, moving forward driven by their curiosity and intrinsic desire to know. That being said, it is my job to pique that curiosity, provide opportunities to discover knowledge, and pick up those who stumble along the way. In this setting, the teacher is a facilitator, a guide, more than a sage on the stage. It is an exciting and rewarding way to learn, but it comes with the added burden or hard work on the learners part. Just as you can be led to a buffet, it is up to you to eat. Just as you can get stronger by going to the gym, you won't ever achieve gains by having others lift the weights for you.
And that brings the story to the present. Professionally, I am currently working on making technology an integral part of the science learning experience in my classroom. Through the use of computers, probeware, and software, I hope to create a classroom where all students of all levels have a fair shot at not only being proficient at the basics, but also have access to more challenging material. Personally, I am working on preparing a nursery for our new baby on the way. And with whatever time remains, I'm still playing sports when possible, climbing the local volcanoes, and making plans to get away on my next adventure to some other side of the globe.
9/14/2012
Update: The Cable family has grown by one! Our beautiful Lily Rene Cable made her fashionably early entrance to the world on 9/8 at 4:24 AM, weighing in at 6 lbs 1/2 oz with a length of 19.5 inches. So far she spends her days (and evenings, nights, and early mornings) eating, sleeping, and pooping. Not always in that order, not always separately, and not always the way I might choose to go about it, but perfectly nonetheless.
Flash forward a year and with a masters of science education in my hands, I headed off to Hawaii to start my career as a high school science teacher at Moanalua High School. After three years, I moved back to Oregon with countless memories of a wonderful place and people, and more importantly, my amazing wife to be. When I was offered a job at Tigard High School in 2006, I immediately signed on and have never regretted my decision. In my six years on the job, I have discovered what a fantastic school, staff, department, and community this is. I have grown much in my profession, each year offering new challenges, each challenge overcome offering new lessons learned.
Though always evolving, my current philosophy on education is that students learn best when allowed to explore their subject, moving forward driven by their curiosity and intrinsic desire to know. That being said, it is my job to pique that curiosity, provide opportunities to discover knowledge, and pick up those who stumble along the way. In this setting, the teacher is a facilitator, a guide, more than a sage on the stage. It is an exciting and rewarding way to learn, but it comes with the added burden or hard work on the learners part. Just as you can be led to a buffet, it is up to you to eat. Just as you can get stronger by going to the gym, you won't ever achieve gains by having others lift the weights for you.
And that brings the story to the present. Professionally, I am currently working on making technology an integral part of the science learning experience in my classroom. Through the use of computers, probeware, and software, I hope to create a classroom where all students of all levels have a fair shot at not only being proficient at the basics, but also have access to more challenging material. Personally, I am working on preparing a nursery for our new baby on the way. And with whatever time remains, I'm still playing sports when possible, climbing the local volcanoes, and making plans to get away on my next adventure to some other side of the globe.
9/14/2012
Update: The Cable family has grown by one! Our beautiful Lily Rene Cable made her fashionably early entrance to the world on 9/8 at 4:24 AM, weighing in at 6 lbs 1/2 oz with a length of 19.5 inches. So far she spends her days (and evenings, nights, and early mornings) eating, sleeping, and pooping. Not always in that order, not always separately, and not always the way I might choose to go about it, but perfectly nonetheless.
6/4/13
6/19/13
8/23/13
9/9/13
9/13/13
9/14/13
10/6/13 (eating dirt in the garden)
10/25/13
10/25/13
10/27/13
10/28/13
11/20/13
11/27/13
12/13/13
2/9/14
5/1/14
10/11/14
10/31/14
12/31/14
1/17/15
Introducing Mia!
Introducing Mia!
9/8/15 First day of preschool and 3rd birthday!