Who am I...

1) Name: Luke Smrdel

   Hometown: Willoughby, Ohio

   Email: luke.smrdel@gmail.com

2) I prefer to be called Luke

3) I currently teach 6th and 7th grade math at Forest Park Middle School in Euclid, Ohio

4) I love sports. My favorite is baseball. I played in college and now play a lot of softball. I also play basketball a few times a week. I also love to play golf, even though I stink at it!!! I am planning on taking up dodge ball in the upcoming year. And playing in competitive tournaments for dodge ball. I also love coaching. I have been a coach for 7 years now.

5) In order for me to take risks in the classroom, I need to be comfortable with the people in the classroom and the teacher. As long as those aspects are in play I feel like I can learn a ton!

6) As a student I see myself as a hard worker and a someone who balances a lot of different things going on at the same time. I currently have 3 classes per week and I am coaching during this time as well. I am very organized and make sure that I have everything done in a timely manner. When I do not understand something I seek help from any available sources. I however know that I struggle in reading comprehension, and have been working hard to get better for a long time. I have ADHD and was on an IEP in school. I have worked hard to overcome this, but still understand that I still have areas to improve in. Ultimately, I see myself as a hard working and aware learner, who will try hard to do my best, and if I come up short I will work harder the next time to make sure that doesn't happen again!

7) I learn best from seeing and hearing. I have a hard time learning from reading.

8) One memory that I have from being a student is the first time that I learned how to compare numbers. My teacher allowed me to share my reasoning with the class and I was able to draw a greater than and a less than sign and make it into an alligator mouth. This was all the way back in first grade. I know after this math came very easy to me and I was excited to learn math!

9) Some of the concerns that I have for our current education world are not enough evaluation of teachers. Meaning after a teacher gets tenure they are basically safe for the rest of their career. We also need to look into ways to modernize our practices. We are stuck in the past in the ways that we teach and assess and need to make school a place where the kids can relate to. (and learn in) Lastly, we need to make sure that the people who lead our schools are doing a good job. We need a way for people to assess their performance as well.  We need the best leaders to have the best schools.

10) In the curriculum course these are the things that I would love to learn in this order.

3, 1, 2, 4

11) Two questions for Dr. Shutkin....

a) What was the most interesting class that you had when you were in college?

b) What is your favorite part of teaching?