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7 Questions With David O'Keefe
Hey, I am David O'Keefe. I teach seventh-grade math and science at Quail Valley Middle School. I've been at this location for two years. It's in Phelan California.
I started a career in a career in education cause that's what I've always wanted to be since I was little.
If you could have any other job what would it be?
if I could have any other job I would be and why if I wasn't able to do teaching anymore, I'd probably go back and work in the field. As a chemical, chemical technician, again, working in a research lab, I had a lot of fun with that. It wasn't quite as fun as teaching, but it was still good.
How are kids different than they were 30 years ago?
How are kids different, different than now than 30 years? I don't know how they're different than 30 years ago. I've only been alive for a little over 30 years. But I imagine they're a little bit keener to try new things a little keener to just dive into something, even if they're worried about failure. It's really nice to see that kind of that desire to just try out new things, even if they don't know what's happening. That's always been fun.
How is teaching different than it was 30 years ago?
I think teaching has changed quite a bit. We have a lot more hands-on stuff. Especially as people start to move from industries and from other types of employment and get into the teaching field, instead of always being there, you get an opportunity to really see some more real-world examples lot less book stuff, and a lot more hands-on, which has been a lot of fun.
What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a teacher?
What would you tell someone right now is thinking I was thinking about becoming a teacher, I would say prepare kinda like in lion king, the be prepared cuz it's gonna be crazy. It's gonna be a lot of emotions and a lot of feelings from kids and from adults. And uh, it's just a kind of navigating that and that's one thing that I was not ready for.
What would you change to help kids learn better?
What's one thing that you would change to help kids learn better. Give more opportunities for access to materials. That's one of the hardest things to keep track of, uh, unless you spend all your own money, uh, to get ahold of those things and never be afraid to ask. Cause if you don't ask the answer is always no uh, anyways, thanks so much. We guys have a blessed day. Thank you guys so much for the opportunity for this talk.