Article written by Patricia Parada Briceno, 9th grade
Interview conducted by Jayden Gonzalez, 11th grade
Out of all the amazing staff at ECA, this week’s staff spotlight goes to Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson teaches Civics and, most recently, Economics and Personal Finance (EPF). He has taught Civics for 15 years. He says that the reason for becoming a teacher was because of his love for learning and the teachers who helped him as a student. He also told us, “I went through a little bit of bullying when I was in middle school, and so having someone to talk to and lean on when I was not feeling great mentally helped me a lot. And so being able to tie the two together, teaching the subject matter that I like to teach and hopefully being a similar source of inspiration for my students is what brings me joy with the job.” Mr. Johnson is also the staff advisor for GSA, also known as Gay-Straight Alliance. He wants to make students feel safe and is very proud of how the club has grown in the past 5 years.
Mr. Johnson shared some advice or information about what his classes will be like for students who will be taking it soon. He describes Civics as a class that is “connected to how life is today,” and he explained that he uses different assignments and projects to show students the connection between the subject and real-world government and jobs. He wants students to take what they have learned in his class and be able to apply it to their real-world experiences. As he mentioned, EPF is a class that he now manages and says that it can be challenging for both him and the students since planning out the future and learning how finances impact you can be difficult.
Alongside being a great teacher, Mr. Johnson is also a fan of many different things. He loves Disney, Star Wars, and Harry Potter, mentioning to our interviewer that he is a Ravenclaw. He is a big reader and says, “Last year, I read about 130 books in the year. As of, let's see, probably at the end of August, beginning of September I'd already read 100 total books for this year, and I'm not stopping anytime soon.”
Mr. Johnson gave us some very meaningful advice for students, or honestly, anyone. He told us to enjoy life, even if we are trying to accomplish a goal, just sit back and take a look at how it is. It is better said in his own words, “Enjoy the journey that is life. Sometimes we get fixated on wanting to achieve the goal. And we forget to enjoy the scenery along the way.”