My apartment is on campus by Hughes House. Around 6 or 6:30 I get up and go to “puppy play group” at the baseball field behind the ice rink. My dog Tasman is a little shy; she’s a German Shepherd mix. Tasman is named after the second highest peak in New Zealand, where my wife’s family lives. (We couldn’t name her after the highest peak in New Zealand because it’s Mt. Cook—Tasman sounds nicer.) So, Tasman plays most mornings with other community pups. Usually, Sienna, Lily, Caiko, Boomer, Pippin, Jed and Rudy are there.

I come home, shower, get dressed and go to the dining hall. My usual is an egg, half a bagel, cereal and yogurt—and some orange juice. Then I go to assembly or a faculty meeting or I meet with my advisees (sophomores - four boys and three girls). I go to assemblies to announce to students the next Outdoor Program trip. When I went to tell them about our ice-climbing trip to Kinsman Notch, NH, I brought a couple of ice axes in with me-they seemed to enjoy that!

Half my job is running the Outdoor Program, which teaches students the fundamental skills to safely enjoy the outdoors. The other half of my job is teaching. I teach geology, environmental science and Methods of Scientific Research [Class IV].

In my geology class, we start by learning about the three main types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. It’s kind of like kindergarten in that we sit in a circle on the floor and pass around different kinds of rocks. I start the kids thinking about the differences in color, texture, and mineralogy. To be able to identify rocks in the field you need this kind of hands on practice.

When we study igneous rocks, which are rocks that all have cooled from lava, we ask ourselves what the rocks can tell us about the history of the area they came from. Are they extrusive, with smaller crystals? Or are they intrusive igneous rocks, which have coarser-grained crystals? Do they show evidence of gases escaping or flow structures? I also show students slides; I have whole library of geology images, many of which I’ve taken while hiking.

All three seasons, I run an after-school course that earns students P.E. credit. In the fall, we go rock climbing at the nearby Quincy quarries—old granite quarries—where people have climbed since the 1930s. It’s just five minutes away.

Throughout the season, we work on a progression of skills and different techniques. It’s all geared toward our final trip to climb New Hampshire’s Cathedral and White Horse Ledges. These are both big cliffs —in the neighborhood of 500 feet—so we end the climbing part of the course with a bigger challenge. For these climbs we hire professional guides who we work with every year.

For hiking, we begin with how to dress, stay hydrated, go to the bathroom in the woods, stay hygienic, and how to set up a tent. We also work on concepts of group cohesiveness and learn the correct terms for equipment and techniques. The students are awesome.

Our overnight backpacking trip this year was to Franconia Falls in the White Mountains. Kim Walker (English department) was my co-instructor for this fall’s course; she is great with the students. We also use Bill Boyle, an experienced climber and instructor, for most of our climbing trips.

In the winter, students learn to climb on our indoor climbing wall—and to ice climb outdoors. We learn about safety systems that mitigate the risks, always starting with attaining a comfort level with safety equipment; learning how to make knots; and, of course, about belaying. Students need to know that their life is in the hands of someone they can trust.

This year in the spring, Outdoor Program students will learn to sea kayak; that course ends with a two-night educational trip on an island in Maine. I periodically take courses though the AMGA(American Mountain Guides Association), the ACA (American Canoe Association), and NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) to learn new skills, but I also become a better teacher by observing other instructors’ methods for illustrating techniques or making an important point about safety.

As part of the Outdoor Program, we take day trips every weekend that’s feasible; those trips are free and open to all Upper School students. Since I arrived at Milton we have also been running incredible spring vacation trips. We’ve been sea kayaking in the Bahamas and Belize, mountain biking, hiking, and climbing in Utah and this year the trip will be trekking and rafting in Costa Rica, We have financial aid to offer so that students who would normally not be able to come can join us.

When I was in high school, I had minimal interest in science—mostly, I think, because I had inspiring English and history teachers. But when I was little, my dad was dean of students at Hamilton College in upstate New York. I grew up in a farmhouse there and played outside a lot. Then we moved to North Carolina and lived in a house in the woods with a pond nearby. I spent hours and hours outside. When I went to Middlebury College, I was required to take a science course. After a conversation with my father, I decided to take a geology course very similar to the one I teach now. After all, I’d been rock-climbing since I was 14. When I began the class, I was hooked: It explained why mountains form; how glaciers work; why certain cliffs look the way they do. With the amount of travel and outdoor recreation I do, Geology gave me a way to understand the land I was in. This is a lot of what I want to pass on to my students. I got a letter a few years ago from a former student thanking me for the class; she had just been to a national park with her family and had been able to explain to her parents the forces that had shaped the area. I still keep that letter pinned to my office bulletin board!

I was pretty excited when Milton was interested in me for this job. Where else would I be allowed to combine two things I love: teaching science and outdoor education. I knew Milton’s reputation for attracting the best and brightest students, and I was always interested in teaching at a place that had the same kind of students I went to college with [Middlebury College in Vermont]. I wanted to teach at a place where it’s OK to be smart. There’s no such thing as “the cool crowd” here, really. I think it’s largely because the School does such as great job promoting diversity, not just of color but also of interests—in arts, athletics and clubs—and of socio-economic status.
I value being able to walk into my classroom and know that my students will be well prepared and engaged. I can expect a high level of integrity from my colleagues, too. The adults on this campus are constantly thinking about what’s in the best interest of students.

Outdoor education lets me teach students in another way. It lets them learn about themselves away from the pressures of school. It builds confidence, helps students learn to trust others and how to control their fear.
On our overnight trips, we hang out in the tents and play board games. It’s a great way to know your students well; Milton’s given me tremendous opportunities to become a better teacher.