Profile Article: Mike Reardon
In education, teachers often have different ideas about what it means to teach. What is the best way to impart vital knowledge to your students, to prepare them for the world beyond? Books, lectures, and discussions have produced different approaches, and various other ones are tried by teachers across the country. At East Linn Christian Academy, though, the consensus is that high school teacher Mike Reardon has got it figured out.
With a degree in nuclear engineering, Mr. Reardon spent four years of his life as a nuclear engineer at the Hanford Site in Washington. Unsatisfied with this job, he took what may seem to some as an unexpected turn in his career. For four more years after his job at Hanford, he became a public school teacher, then switched to being a private school teacher, and has stuck with this job for 17 years.
Nowadays he is often found in his classroom, either typing at his desk, or more often talking with students. The range of topics in his conversation vary greatly, from politics to general everyday things. His popularity as a teacher has made after-class discussions a regular thing, as his style of teaching has brought out the educational relationship between teacher and student that before only seemed like an impossible ideal. His lectures, notorious for his fast style of talking, are a favorite among students, despite the difficulty of writing rapid-fire notes to keep up with his train of thought. His patient and humorous take on things makes for lighthearted discussions and debates, as he seeks to sharpen the minds of his students through tried and true methods.
If you were to ask him about these things however, he'd likely tell you otherwise. Often downplaying his role, he prefers to talk about the achievements of his brother, Jim Reardon, instead. Jim works as a head writer for Disney, and co-wrote the story for several movies including "WALL-E", "Wreck-It Ralph", and "Zootopia". "He's a lot more interesting than I am." Mike said, "He went to college at CalArts to become an animator. Most people at Disney graduate from there." Mike gave an in-depth account of his brother's work, citing the names of the movies and the years his brother worked on them.
In an email from Jim Reardon, Mike's character was revealed a little more through his brother's perspective. "Besides being one of the fastest talkers ever, he has a rock-like sense of integrity and unerring moral compass, due in no small part to his deep faith, and his compassion for the less fortunate among us. We grew up in a fairly poor household, and he has battled health issues from his teenage years that have crippled many others. But he has used these experiences as inspiration to help his students overcome their own setbacks. He truly 'walks the walk.'"
Unassuming seems to be the general theme with Mike, and perhaps for a good reason. "It was ingrained in us by our parents not to 'toot one's own horn', as our mother put it." Jim said, "I know he is one of the best teachers I've ever met, and the esteem he is held in by former students confirms my opinion."
At first it seems odd that Mike would decide to go from a nuclear engineer to a high-school teacher, but his motives seem to be he wanted something more than just a high-paying job. Jim's comments on the matter shed a fair bit of light as to his brother's true nature. "I think as he grew older, the need grew in him to uplift his fellow man, and leave this world a better place than he found it. Although he was a top-flight engineer, power plant work simply didn't satisfy that need. We are all the richer for that decision."
An inspiration for his students and his brother, Mike found his true calling in teaching. In asking him about why he teaches, he preferred to put a different perspective on the matter. "I get money, my class isn't too big, I teach what I like to teach, I'm spoiled, really."
Mike has an IMDb page due to lending his voice to one of Jim's earlier works.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1831458/?ref_=nv_sr_4
With a degree in nuclear engineering, Mr. Reardon spent four years of his life as a nuclear engineer at the Hanford Site in Washington. Unsatisfied with this job, he took what may seem to some as an unexpected turn in his career. For four more years after his job at Hanford, he became a public school teacher, then switched to being a private school teacher, and has stuck with this job for 17 years.
Nowadays he is often found in his classroom, either typing at his desk, or more often talking with students. The range of topics in his conversation vary greatly, from politics to general everyday things. His popularity as a teacher has made after-class discussions a regular thing, as his style of teaching has brought out the educational relationship between teacher and student that before only seemed like an impossible ideal. His lectures, notorious for his fast style of talking, are a favorite among students, despite the difficulty of writing rapid-fire notes to keep up with his train of thought. His patient and humorous take on things makes for lighthearted discussions and debates, as he seeks to sharpen the minds of his students through tried and true methods.
If you were to ask him about these things however, he'd likely tell you otherwise. Often downplaying his role, he prefers to talk about the achievements of his brother, Jim Reardon, instead. Jim works as a head writer for Disney, and co-wrote the story for several movies including "WALL-E", "Wreck-It Ralph", and "Zootopia". "He's a lot more interesting than I am." Mike said, "He went to college at CalArts to become an animator. Most people at Disney graduate from there." Mike gave an in-depth account of his brother's work, citing the names of the movies and the years his brother worked on them.
In an email from Jim Reardon, Mike's character was revealed a little more through his brother's perspective. "Besides being one of the fastest talkers ever, he has a rock-like sense of integrity and unerring moral compass, due in no small part to his deep faith, and his compassion for the less fortunate among us. We grew up in a fairly poor household, and he has battled health issues from his teenage years that have crippled many others. But he has used these experiences as inspiration to help his students overcome their own setbacks. He truly 'walks the walk.'"
Unassuming seems to be the general theme with Mike, and perhaps for a good reason. "It was ingrained in us by our parents not to 'toot one's own horn', as our mother put it." Jim said, "I know he is one of the best teachers I've ever met, and the esteem he is held in by former students confirms my opinion."
At first it seems odd that Mike would decide to go from a nuclear engineer to a high-school teacher, but his motives seem to be he wanted something more than just a high-paying job. Jim's comments on the matter shed a fair bit of light as to his brother's true nature. "I think as he grew older, the need grew in him to uplift his fellow man, and leave this world a better place than he found it. Although he was a top-flight engineer, power plant work simply didn't satisfy that need. We are all the richer for that decision."
An inspiration for his students and his brother, Mike found his true calling in teaching. In asking him about why he teaches, he preferred to put a different perspective on the matter. "I get money, my class isn't too big, I teach what I like to teach, I'm spoiled, really."
Mike has an IMDb page due to lending his voice to one of Jim's earlier works.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1831458/?ref_=nv_sr_4
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