Surdacki Originals

2 years at Calabasas High School in Southern California (public). 1 year at Plateau Road Elementary School in Eldoret, Kenya, East Africa (private). 5 years at Rolling Hills Preparatory School in Southern California, last 3 years as Social Science Department Head (private). 2 years at Westmont High School in Northern California (public). 1 year at EDS Middle School in Northern California, Special Education Teacher for Mild to Moderate Learning Disabilities. Supervised university student teachers in Nashville, TN. 15 years teaching in a Williamson County public high school in the Nashville, TN area.

My teaching style depends on the material being taught. I have students write a rap or country song on their favorite Enlightenment thinker with the 18th century; I use excerpts from Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" with World War I (the BOOK, not the movie); testimonials from Steven Spielberg's "Shoah" project (interviews of Survivors) with the Holocaust; and I have students create a cartoon (sorry, "graphic short story") of the French Revolution so they can internalize the progression of events. While studying World War II, I ask students to interview their grandparents who often turn out to have had amazing experiences during those years. I make up my own scenarios and examples to illustrate all economic concepts, because I have found that other national best-selling resources just aren't efficient or interesting or funny enough.

My shining teaching moments are when a student says "I printed out this article about airstrikes in Gaza from CNN.com last night, it's just what we were talking about in class..." or "I watched something on World War I this weekend and I actually understood it!" (from a "D" student--she's learning something!). The excitement on their faces when they understand historical or economic references in everyday life is my best reward.

B.A. in Economics, Pepperdine University, 1987. California Professional Clear Single Subject Teaching Credential: Social Sciences, 1990. M.A. in Education, Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, 1992. Tennessee Professional Teaching Certificate 2009, current. Highly Qualified in Economics, Government, and History.

I have taught World History for 15 years and Economics for 15 years. If you are looking for materials on a particular topic, send me a message and I might be able to upload something for you; I have a large amount of material I have not yet uploaded.