My name is Benjamin Geile (rhymes with guile), and I am completing an English Teaching degree that I started roughly 13 years ago.  Well, to be honest, what I STARTED was a Vocal Performance degree that became a Music Composition degree that became an English Composition degree.  Then I became a dad, and realized that even the best poetry doesn't put bananas and cheerios on the table.  So here I am.

I've always appreciated teaching.  It makes up a significant portion of my career as a Coordinator of Youth Ministry.  My job is, at its core, getting young people ready for whatever comes next.  Most of my work is done with Catholic youth, at Catholic churches and camps, and when we're not running, jumping, or climbing things, we're learning.  There's a dearth of guys involved in Catholic stuff in general, particularly in the priesthood and schools.  I'm out of the running for the priesthood, (note the above mentioned baby) so when it came time to start looking for a career that would still let me work with youth and bring home a slightly heftier paycheck, teaching became an appealing option. 

Yes, youth ministry pays less than teaching at a Catholic school.  I was surprised too.

One of the upshots of being a Music or English major in a previous life is that no advisor worth their salt will let you get a degree in singing or poetry without at least recommending that you take a few education courses, just in case, y'know, you have trouble landing that Poet Laureate position.  I have the lion's share of an English Teaching degree complete already, and only get to deal with the focused, higher level stuff.  And math.  Teachers are required to take significantly more math and science than poets.

But I'm game.  You'd be surprised how complicated some music theory is compared to Math 123 or how how simple Chemistry 100 is versus keeping track of some pentameters.

This EdTech class came as a suprise, though.  I'm 31, which means I was 4 when the NES came out, and dead center in the target demographic of every game console released since.  To look at a project-based class like this through the lens of gaming makes sense, and I believe that we'll see more of it as more of us millennials become decision-makers. 

Pax and Petra,
Ben