Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Heppner.
Hi Nate, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in a cabin in the woods about 10 miles from the small town of Palmer, Alaska. I attended Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, where I competed on the swim team. In the summers I returned home to Alaska, where I worked as a lifeguard and eventually became certified to teach Red Cross swim lessons. I very much enjoyed teaching swim lessons, and so I decided to get my teaching credential at Whitworth. After graduating, I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I taught ESL and 4th grade from 1998 – 2000. In 2000 I moved to San Diego and taught at Crawford High School, Morse High School, and San Diego High School. In 2002 I began working at La Jolla Country Day as a 7th and 8th grade English teacher, as well as the water polo an swim coach. I’ve been at Country Day ever since, teaching middle school English and coaching aquatics.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been at some times smooth and other times bumpy. I don’t like to make too much of either. Suffice to say that the world of education is full of theories, trends, fads, and agendas, and, in my estimation, anyone who aspires to be great at teaching must operate on solid principles grounded in a love of learning, pursuit of truth, and genuine student/teacher interaction. These principles may or may not match the prevailing winds at any given time, but giving up on them in favor of smooth sailing is a bad idea, and, in my experience, students can tell very quickly whether or not their teacher is operating in good faith and expertise. The appreciation of the students for a truly educational experience is what matters most, regardless of how smooth or bumpy the road might be in the process.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love using stories as a means to teach my English class. I have a lot of them, from my childhood, college years, and adulthood, and I’ve found that these personal experiences, when told at the right time, in the right way, serve always to enhance the value of the literature we read, the writing process, and even the grammar and vocabulary lessons. I believe that teaching is an art, every class is a new painting, and stories are the canvas.
How do you think about happiness?
I wake up every morning excited to teach my classes, and I consider myself very lucky in this regard.
