Mr. Wilson's Class

2023-2024 School Year Schedule:Period 1:  Physical Education 10

Period 2:  Physical Education 9

Period 3:  Physical Education 10

Period 4:  Physical Education 10

Period 5:  Physical Education 10

Period 6:  Conference Period

American Red Cross Club Co-advisor

Students use Google Classroom (http://classroom.google.com/) to access class materials. (You can find that access through your Aeries account.)

Welcome to Thunderdome!

"You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write."   - Annie Proulx, American author

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett, Irish author

"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read." - James Baldwin, African-American author

"A word after a word after a word is power." - Margaret Atwood, Canadian author

"Be kind. Be mindful. Be the best version of yourself. Be informed, stay engaged even though the work is hard. And recognize the dignity and the worth of every human being."   - John Lewis, American Civil Rights icon and Congressman

"No one can be authentically human while he prevents others from being so."  - Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher

"I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."  - Michael Jordan, NBA basketball great

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Mr. Wilson's brief bio

I grew up in Santa Ana with my immigrant, Spanish-speaking, single mother. Among many things, she taught me hardwork; I worked hard in school. Consequently, I attended the University of California, Irvine where I earned my B.A. I then attended Columbia University in New York City where I earned my M.A. And then I attended the University of California, Irvine where I earned my teaching credential. I have taught in Santa Ana Unified for 26 years. I began at Century High School in 1998, continued teaching at Saddleback High School for 6 years, and have been at Segerstrom High School since 2005. I have taught English, Psychology, and Sociology; and now I am teaching Physical Education. This is my fourth year teaching P.E. and I am excited about teaching it!

I love long-distance running, reading books, traveling internationally (and domestically), hiking nature trails, playing board games, and spending time with my wife and son. I am an avid marathon runner - I run 50-60 miles every week all year long - and I run 2 to 3 marathons annually. I have also competed in 5K, 10K and half-marathon races, but my favorite is to run 26.2-mile races. I am always reading three to five books at any given time (I mostly enjoy reading non-fiction books, but I also enjoy reading fiction.). My family and I travel to international destinations annually. For example, this summer we traveled to Spain - we experienced the majesty of the Basilical de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the medieval historic town of Toledo, the Moorish beauty of Granada and Cordoba, and the capital charm of Madrid, among other glorious sites of Spain. The previous summer we traveled to Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. We saw massive Alaskan glaciers and hiked/explored beautiful mountain and forest trails through British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. And two summers previously we traveled to England and Wales; where we explored medieval castles and quaint Welsh villages nestled in and around Snowdonia National Park in northern Wales. We climbed the second highest peak in all of the UK -- Mt. Snowdon and we went whitewater rafting in Wales. We went hiking along beautiful footpaths/hiking paths across the rolling hills of the Cotswolds in Southwest England from village to village. We had a glorious time. The summer of 2019, we traveled to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The summer of 2018, we traveled to England and Scotland. Every year we travel somewhere internationally - I love immersing myself in different cultures and meeting people from different societies. I have traveled to Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Israel, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and many of these places multiple times. My favorite European country is Italy; my favorite European city is Prague; my favorite island is Ireland; my favorite rain forest is Costa Rica. My family and I often hike locally and in far-off destinations. We often play all sorts of strategy and role-playing games. Some of our favorite board games include Twilight Imperium, Tapestry, Lords of Waterdeep, Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders, Stone Age, Viticulture, and Terraforming Mars. And we always - when possible - spend quality time discussing the meaning of life and all of its complex and simple beauties. 

This is Kipchoge's world, and we just live in it. 

(Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest marathon runner in history and one of my idols.)