Hi, my name is Mr. Brock.
But you probably already know that by now.
This page (and the Teaching Philosophy and My Experiences pages attached to it) are my attempt to be perfectly open about who I am, what matters to me, and maybe prove that I rock enough to deserve the URL of this website.
Seriously, Mr. Brock rocks. Most of the time at least.
When I was younger, I didn't appreciate just how much my family rocked. Now I'm older and wiser and love them more than I can describe with mere words. And that's saying a lot because I talk a lot and can be very poetic when I want. These are some of the people who matter the most to me: my fiancée, my parents, my sisters, my brothers-in-law, and my niece.
My lovely fiancée, Ms. Schiel, is a teacher at Southeastern High School. We met there before I was transferred to Mumford High School.
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My sisters are two and four years younger than I am. This picture was taken about a year ago when the last of us graduated from college.
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The terrified baby in the picture to the right is my niece, Kaylen. I love this baby so much that I cry at least once every time that I get to see her. She inspired me to be a better person than I was before she was born. Not that I was terrible. But I wasn't good enough to be her uncle yet.
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My life has taken me many different places. Below are Google Maps showing where I've lived and where I've taught. It seems like a weird distinction but I really feel that my life was changed by becoming a teacher and so two maps are needed. The map on the left shows my birthplace (Greenfield, Indiana - A), where I moved when I was nine (Fenton, Michigan - B), where I went to high school (Markham, Ontario - C), and where I went to college (Michigan State University - D). The map on the right shows MSU again (A) then the school where I first taught (Charlotte High School - B), my second teaching job (Buchanan High School - C), and where I'm happy to be now (Mumford High School - D).
And here are two more Google Maps showing two of the coolest places I have ever been. The first image shows Mumford to Hong Kong in China. The second map shows Mumford to Rome, Italy. My trip to China was part of a government program and the trip to Italy was part of a school trip which I chaperoned. There's more information about my two journeys away from home on the "My Experiences" page if you scroll down to the part about handstands.
My second trip was to Italy. Of course, there were complications again. This time I was a chaperone on the trip. One of the students left her passport on the plane and we were stranded at customs when our next flight took off. The student and I had to sit in a German airport for several hours to get another flight. We missed the entire first day of the trip in Rome but I'll never forget that experience. I walked laps in the airport to pass the time. Just blasting music into my brain and zooming down those moving walkways. We also got to take a small cab instead of a massive bus to the hotel. No one else ever had that experience and it was unique. The rest of Italy was equally unforgettable. |
My first big trip outside of the States was to China. My original flight was cancelled so I had to fly in much later. When I got there it was the middle of the night and I had to find my way to the hotel all on my own. It was terrifying but exhilarating to be somewhere so different. After I finally found a taxi service, the cab made its way across stretches of super-highway to get from island to island in the archipelago. I was captivated by the size of the city and its massive buildings that were all lit up and brilliant in the night. Imagine a city smaller than Detroit but with ten times the people. That's Hong Kong. The rest of China was equally fascinating. |
The images below demonstrate some of the things that I value.
I made this shield for a European History course that I taught at Charlotte. My students had to design medieval shields that represented themselves so I made my own example. The badger is an animal often used on Brock shields (sometimes badgers are called brocks) and is a symbol of aggression against great odds because they are known for protecting their young against more powerful creatures like bears. Just like me. I'd protect my students from bears. The purple and blue are related to loyalty and the silver color of the badger to peace.
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I love to eat. Right now I'm blessed to have a decent metabolism but someday I'll probably be super fat. This is a picture of me eating the Super Duper Counterman's Treat at Lou's Deli just down the street from Mumford on McNichols. And that large drink and the fries. I also ate a little bit of Ms. Bacero's sandwich that she didn't finish.
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I'm the proud sponsor of Mumford's Anime Club and an even prouder geek. If I had any free time then I'd spend a lot of it with my PS3 or watching my favorite shows. I'm also an avid reader of sci-fi, fantasy, and comics. Just check the class library to see some of my favorites! That doesn't even do my collection justice as I have tons of books and comics on my shelves at home... or in boxes since I don't have enough bookshelves. I'd make a list of my favorites but keeping that list short would be nearly impossible.