Biology, Environmental Science, Adventure Specialist

Richard L.

Although I have not always been a teacher, I can say that I have spent my entire career as an educator. As soon as I graduated from Humboldt State University in 1988, I began working as a Naturalist at an outdoor science school teaching middle-school students about the Redwood Forest and nearby seashore communities. Soon after that I began working for Outward Bound as a mountaineering and climbing instructor.
I eventually served as a course director and instructor trainer at Outward Bound's High Sierra program. In the off-season I began working for the Flagstaff Unified School District as a bus driver, substitute teacher, special education aide, and home-school teacher. It was also during this time I began working on my teaching certification at Northern Arizona University.
In 2006 I received my MEd from NAU and began teaching high school science in Kayenta, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation that fall. I spent 14 of my 17 years of classroom teaching at Monument Valley High School in Kayenta. Most of that time I taught biology to 10th and 11th graders. The last four years I was there I had the opportunity to develop and teach an Environmental Science curriculum which was designed specifically for the students and community of the Navajo Nation.
I retired from teaching in 2023. Now, I split my time between Kayenta, where my wife Laura still works and our property outside of Monticello UT, about 2 hours north of Kayenta.
My approach to tutoring depends a lot on the specific needs of the student. I will definitely want to know what is expected by the student's regular teacher. I believe in the power of practice, so I like to keep my students actively engaged in applying new skills and receiving feedback. I do my best to help students feel comfortable enough to try new things. In order to learn you have to be willing to make mistakes sometimes.