I was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. I attended the public school system and graduated with a baccalaureate degree in cell and molecular biology from SUNY Buffalo. My medical degree was conferred by the New York College of Podiatric Medicine in 1984. My specialties include podiatric sports medicine and geriatrics, and I am a member of the PI DELTA National Podiatric Medical Honor Society. I’ve had podiatry offices in New York and Connecticut. The most satisfying part of my professional life was teaching my patients about their medical conditions. When providence necessitated my return to New York City I considered teaching to supplement my income as I began to develop my practice again in this region. Finding teaching to be more satisfying than Medicine, I began to devote the majority of my time to it. My teaching career began twentyone years ago when I spent a term at Tottenville HS and a term at IS75, before obtaining an appointment to William Grady Vocational/Technical High School in Brooklyn where I spent the next decade. While there, I began their first advanced placement program, and I’ve taught Advanced Placement Biology, Regents Biology, Regents Chemistry, and Regents Physics. During the summers I designed and ran a science research program and a forensic science program that I taught at Lincoln High School for five years. Ten years ago I transferred to New Dorp High School in Staten Island to be closer to my family. At New Dorp I’ve taught Advanced Placement Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, science research, and a forensics program during the summer. I currently serve as an adjunct instructor in Kingsborough Community College’s College Now program and teach Issues and Adventures in Science. At the College of Staten Island, I was a facilitator for the Discovery Institute and a Mentor Specialist in a graduate course for new teachers. I have also taught the peer coaching course to train new mentors for the BASIS superintendency and I have served as a new teacher mentor on numerous occasions. I am an item writer for the NYS Living Environment Regents. In February 2004, I had the honor of becoming one of Education Update's teachers of the month. My hobbies include building computers and chess. Chess is a microcosm of life; it teaches planning and perseverance. I encourage my students to participate, and I run a school based chess club. Integrating technology into my classes is my major focus. I have received hundreds of emails from my current and former students. I run an online biology chat where students can ask questions that may not have been answered during class time, and also have the opportunity to answer each other’s questions. Internet based coursework assists me in facilitating my students’ discovery of knowledge. I teach from the heart. Teaching defines you more than any other profession. It is far more than simply a job that you do. The most special accomplishment in my life is being the husband of a wonderful woman and the father of my two sons Mark and Daniel. My sincere thanks go out to them for accepting the efforts and time that I find I must put into this profession. Teaching permits me to follow the advice of Mark Twain who said, “The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation." |
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