Greetings Mountain Lions! I am excited to be joining you at Meany Middle School this fall. I have been teaching middle school social studies for the last three years in Kent and I am looking forward to teaching students who are my neighbors in the area (I live in First Hill).
A little bit about Mr. Simpson: I grew up in Ohio and joined the US Army after graduating from high school. I was in stationed and Joint Base Lewis McCord (near Tacoma) and spent a year in Iraq. After my enlistment ended I decided to stay in the Pacific Northwest and co-founded a veterans’ resource center called Coffee Strong and received my Bachelors of Arts and Masters in Teaching at the Evergreen State College. My emphasis was on history and political economy and I am a huge history nerd. An interesting fact about me is that I am the first in my family to get my Bachelors degree, let alone a Masters degree!
When it comes to teaching history, I believe it is fundamental for students to not only study history for its anthropological lessons but to also view themselves as active and crucial participants in the making and writing of history. Prompted by my own experiences as an Iraq War veteran and later as a social justice activist, I have learned and continue to believe, that history is in the making every day. If the newest generations of students realize how history is relevant to present, students can become the world’s next and most influential leaders.
My name is Michael Parker, and I’m excited to enter my fourth year here at Meany! I’m starting my eighth year of teaching overall and my third year of teaching in the Seattle area. I’m originally from Pittsburgh, PA and started my teaching career in Durham, NC with Durham Public Schools.
My wife – Cory – and I moved to Seattle so Cory could begin doctoral work at the University of Washington. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in US History and Political Science and earned a Masters in Teaching degree from the University of Pittsburgh. I started teaching in Durham, NC and also taught in Renton, WA.
My hobbies include reading, watching basketball and going to the movies. I enjoy reading Haruki Murakami and Zadie Smith, rooting for the Philadelphia 76ers and the North Carolina Tar Heels and watching great movies in my spare time.
My name is Rebecca Goldberg and I am so happy to join the team. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Arizona State University and earned a post-baccalaureate in Education. I have taught a variety of high school science classes like chemistry, biology, and general science. I spent the last 2 years teaching 9th grade I.B. Biology. I enjoy spending time with my family, taking long walks or drives, and going for bike rides.
I’m excited to be teaching Language Arts at Meany Middle School this year! Raised in Vermont, I moved to Seattle in 2015 and earned my Masters in Teaching at Seattle University. I’ve been a tutor, student teacher, and Academic Intervention Specialist at Cleveland High School and Aki Kurose Middle School, where I developed a commitment to social and racial justice in education. I bring to my classroom a deep background in writing, specifically spoken word poetry and academic essays, and I love reading student writing of all kinds. In my free time I read fantasy novels and play and coach Ultimate Frisbee. I’m looking forward to helping my students become lifelong readers and writers.
