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June 15, 2012

Dear Portfolio Reader:

I may not be the best in sports, but I can throw a rifle in the air and make your eyes dance! Yes, I'm that weird guy that dances spontaneously whether there's music or not. I love to laugh, and I enjoy working with people. I am a bit OCD, but that just makes me more loveable. I love my work, and I can't imagine doing anything else. I especially cannot imagine my life without Ms. Devnew; she and I are teaching and platonic soulmates.

Before I came to Kellam High School, life was very, very hard. I worked in Baltimore, Maryland, and every day, my life was in jeopardy. Dodging knives and bullets became commonplace, and the frightening atmosphere of my school inspired weekly, sometimes daily tears. I think my students liked me, but it was most aparent they didn't know how to treat people they liked. I learned a lot during those trying two years, and I think my teaching has improved a great deal because of it, but I will say that it was exhausting, at best.

Since I've been working with Virginia Beach City Public Schools at Kellam High School, my life has improved tremendously. My students are wonderful, their parents are supportive, and I look forward to standing up in front of the classroom on a daily basis. Every day there is a new adventure, not a new act of violence. My students and I work hard and play hard. We have fun while we learn, and we write, write, write. Yes, they may complain that we give them too many writing assignments. Yes, they hate it when we circle all the errors they make in their essays. Yes, they forget an assignment or two every once in a a while. But not once have I ever felt under-appreciated, under-valued, under-loved. Kellam High School and its students have improved my life greatly, and I will always be appreciative.

My life may have had its highs and lows, its twists and turns, but no matter what, I have always made it into a learning experience. Whether it's Baltimore or Virginia Beach, or the back woods of North Carolina where I grew up, I've taken each moment in these places and turned them into life-lessons that have developed my character. The good and the bad all make up me, and I'm happy with the result.

Sincerely,

John M. Merritt

John M. Merritt