Mr. Thomas's
Classroom Webpage
ABOUT MR. THOMAS
BACKGROUND
Mr. Thomas completed his undergraduate studies at William Paterson University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Special Education, Teacher of the Handicapped K-12. He continued his studies at Walden University in Baltimore, MD, where he earned his Master's Degree in 2009 in the field of Teaching Mathematics. He further went on to Rowan University to complete his Supervisory Certificate program in June of 2015, and recently completed his second Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education in Indianapolis, IN.
Mr. Thomas loves to be around the classroom. "Teaching students excites me, and I look forward to new challenges to promote learning in even the most difficult of students." Mr. Thomas has taught regular education and special education in New Jersey public schools for the last nineteen years. He has also served Lenape Valley as an Assistant Baseball Coach for 11 years, and is an active member of the School Improvement Panel and the Lenape Valley Athletic Hall of Fame.
My Philosophy of Education
To teach children new material and have them understand it is something that excites me and has helped me to progress in the field of education. As educators, we spend countless hours learning new material and developing new ways to manage and structure our classrooms. We study ways to modify behaviors and instill progressive learning in our students. We find successful ways to instruct and assess our children in classroom situations. But the most significant role that a teacher plays, to me, is breaking through to these students, and finding that there is a way to pass on information to them that they will truly understand. This teachable moment is what drives me.
Why I Chose Education as a Career
Teaching new concepts and ideas to young learners excites me, and allows me to gain a new piece of mind every day that I am in the classroom. Ever since I was a boy, I remember looking up to my teachers and coaches as role models - as intelligent, creative people who truly cared about everything that I did (and everything that I didn't do). I want to pay homage to those who made an impact on my life, and I want to pass that forward to new generations.