Welcome to this blog and to its very first post! My name is Aaron Robertson, and I started working as a substitute teacher and special education paraprofessional during the 2018-19 school year. I primarily work at the middle and high school levels, but I have elementary experience, as well. I serve in both special education and regular education environments, and in both public school districts and Roman Catholic schools around the greater Milwaukee area.
A little bit about me
Up to the start of the 2018-19 school year, my work experience had been in the business world. I have experience in areas like marketing communications (particularly online marketing), sales support, customer service, general bookkeeping, training and mentoring, office management, supervising, event planning, entrepreneurship, and freelance writing and journalism. Check out the bigger interviews I've conducted over the years with national musicians, TV personalities, and more by clicking here.
Once active on the business networking and community service scenes, I have experience serving on the boards of two local chambers of commerce, as well as charitable work and community projects through organizations like Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis. I also served in city government in my hometown of Muskego, Wisconsin in two non-elected, appointed posts - as a member of the zoning board of appeals, and as a member of the library board of trustees. I served a long stint as president of the library board, and it was a great honor. Through all of these wonderful activities and organizations, I got to meet and work with a diverse variety of awesome people, and I had a lot of fun learning about their own backgrounds and interests, and what it is they do for work.
Currently, I'm pursuing a Ph.D. in leadership at Cardinal Stritch University, where I also earned my master's and bachelor's degrees. My master's is in management, and my bachelor's is in political science with minors in sociology and philosophy. Originally, I was interested in exploring the subject of organizational culture for my Ph.D. dissertation work. I am now exploring China's artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its entrepreneurial climate, U.S. - China Cold War theory, and Realism in International Relations (IR). Some day, I would love to teach at the college level. In the meantime, I'm having a genuine blast working with K-12 students.
In my free time, I love car shows, cookouts, the Milwaukee-area festival scene, the Wisconsin State Fair, writing, occasionally collecting sports memorabilia and coins, Milwaukee Brewers games, dining out, movies, music and live concerts, making others laugh with my humor, and learning something new - be it in the form of conversation, documentaries, museums, travel, or getting lost in Wikipedia articles for an hour or two at a time.
I drink coffee like it's water throughout the day, and I've had teachers and students tell me that they've never seen me without a cup in my hand. My mom compares my need for a cup of coffee in my hand all the time to Linus' security blanket.
I have a fascination with older Lincoln cars, particularly 1970s models, which I attribute to watching too many mob movies growing up. I currently have a 1988 Town Car, and my daily runner is a 2009 MKZ. I once owned a 1979 Continental Mark V - it was truly beautiful.
In December 2021, I rediscovered my Roman Catholic faith after nearly 20 years wandering in the dark wilderness. An epic blog post about my journey is pending. In the meantime, you can learn why I'm Catholic, check out prayers that I've composed, and read about my testimony to the power of the confessional and battling demonic harassment. I have the honor and privilege of teaching Sunday catechism to a group of fourth and fifth graders at my parish (church).
My music interests are quite diverse, and include - blues, jazz, ragtime, a ton of classic rock, crooners like Sinatra and Bennett, 50s rock & roll, 60s pop, 60s and 70s R&B, Gregorian Chant, and some classic country, bluegrass, rockabilly, disco, ethnic, classical, and alternative rock. Never really got into heavy metal, rap, or modern country.
An eccentric, my heroes are Howard Hughes, Rube Waddell, Ginger Baker, Bobby Fischer, and the fictional characters Howard Beale and Dr. House.
Finally, for some reason, I love alpacas and pugs. Just love them.
About the blog
I've always enjoyed sharing meaningful conversations, advice, ideas, and resources with high school and college students on topics like career exploration; preparing a resume and applying for work; connecting what's taught in the classroom to practical, real-world applications; how to frame volunteering and co-curricular activities as marketable assets when seeking employment; college and degree path exploration; networking; financial literacy; goal setting; advice on scholarship applications; and the joys and successes that come with lifelong learning.
With that said, starting this blog only seemed natural. As time has passed during the last few years and I started gaining experience working with middle school students in school settings, I've been trying to develop more content for this blog aimed at that age group. So, welcome - it's my sincere hope that you enjoy the discussions and resources here and that they come to serve as meaningful and useful supplements to all the wonderful learning taking place in the classroom. This blog is for students, parents and families, and fellow educators. I hope you find this site to be of some value to you, and I'm grateful for you sharing it with others.
Read more about my overall teaching philosophy.
Very cool stuff!
ReplyDeleteWho was Muskego Library board president in 2016?
ReplyDeleteHowdy! The president of the Muskego Library Board in 2016 would have been Joseph Boschert, now my colleague on the Zoning Board of Appeals.
ReplyDelete