Personal Introduction

Hi there and welcome to my blog. In lieu of my real name I've chosen the name Pudd'nhead Wilson, the title character of one of my favorite books by Mark Twain. Let me explain the title of my blog by way of an introduction. The reason I chose "Shamrock Pride" as a title is because I am a high school English teacher at Bishop Feehan, a large Catholic high school in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and home of the Fightin' Shamrocks. (I know. It's a pretty pathetic name, especially when you see our somewhat less-than-intimidating school mascot, a leprechaun who runs wild and boxes make-believe opponents from Attleboro and North Attleboro at football rallies.) I am beginning my fourth full year as a teacher at Feehan but before there I taught two years of middle school at Sacred Heart, a small, private Catholic school in Plymouth, Massachusetts. (I do prefer to teach high-schoolers.) Currently, I teach freshmen, sophomores and seniors (for the first time this year...I'm just a little nervous). Also, I will be coaching freshman girls basketball at Feehan for the first time this year. I am very excited about this opportunity since I played basketball in both high school and college and it has always been a passion of mine.

In the process of all this Catholic school teaching I am--slowly but surely--trying to work towards my Rhode Island certification. I am very enthusiastic about the prospects of teaching high school English in the much more diverse Providence or Pawtucket Public Schools in a year or two. (As much as I love Feehan, you can practically count the number of minorities on both hands.) Meanwhile, I feel at the same time like my Catholic school teaching will give me the much-needed preparation and experience that I need to transition into the public schools.

In terms of my personal life, I am married for going on three years to a woman named Janelle, who I met and began dating at Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, as an undergrad. She is currently a kindergarten teacher at The Learning Community, a fairly new charter school in Central Falls, Rhode Island. We rented an apartment on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island, (about three miles from Brown University) when we were first married and have been living happily there ever since. Eventually, we would like to buy a house but we're in no rush given the state of the real estate market. We both agree that the best part of living on the East Side is all the delicious and diverse restaurant choices--Oak, Chez Pascal, India, LJ's BBQ, and, if we want to drive just a bit further, the gourmet Italian restaurants of Federal Hill. Yum! We don't have any kids yet but when people ask we always joke that during the school year Janelle has 20 charges and I have upwards of 100. In addition to that our two bunnies, bonded sisters named Zoe and Chloe, keep us on our toes day and night. (You'd never believe all the destructive chewing a couple of cute little Mini-Lops can do!)

Anyway, that just about covers it. My wife and I have just completed our first week back to school. It goes without saying that we both see a lot less of each other in September and October than July and August. In fact, a lot of the time we feel like those proverbial ships passing in the night. But at the same time we both feel very fortunate to be employed in such a rewarding, albeit very demanding, profession.