NAME:
Mr. John Garrett
SCHOOL:
The Bridge and HIS Classes
CLASS:
Rhetoric and Composition and Speech
WEBSITE:
www.GarrettEdServices.com
John A. Garrett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech, theatre, and
English from William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and a
Master’s of Education Degree in English from Auburn University in Alabama. A
36-year veteran teacher, Mr. Garrett recently retired from teaching public
school at Westfield High School in Spring ISD. He has taught all levels of
English, below-level to advanced placement (AP), in grades eight through
twelve, college-level concurrent credit courses at Westfield articulated
with North Harris County College, and college speech communication courses
and English as an adjunct instructor at Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior
College and with his alma mater, William Carey College. In addition, he has
taught speech, debate, and theatre at the middle school and high school
levels. He is also trained as a writing instructor with the New Jersey
Writing Project in Texas. For the last eight years, he taught an AP Rhetoric
and Composition course designed to hone the writing skills of gifted and
talented students. Last year was his first year to teach with HIS Classes.
In 1991-1992, Mr. Garrett was named Westfield High School's "Teacher of the
Year," Spring ISD’s "Secondary Teacher of the Year," and Spring ISD's
district
"Teacher of the Year." As the district winner, he represented Spring ISD in
the Region 4 "Teacher of the Year" competition. He was also named to “Who’s
Who Among America’s Teachers” for three consecutive years (2002-2004), an
honor he cherishes because each time he was nominated by one of his former
students who had also been selected for "Who's Who Among High School
Students." Additionally, he was also recognized in 2005 as a Spring ISD
“Distinguished Educator,” an honor bestowed upon him by a former student,
himself in the top 5% of his graduating class, who selected Mr. Garrett as
the
teacher who had the most influence on him during his K-12 educational
experience. Finally, in 2007 he was, again, chosen for "Who's Who Among
America's Teachers," this time nominated by one of his HIS students who had
been selected for the National Dean's List.
Teaching writing is Mr. Garrett’s passion. His students have won numerous
writing awards over the years, notably gold and silver keys in the Houston-
area Scholastic Writing Contest and the National Scholastic Writing Contest.
Teaching speech and theatre is Mr. Garrett's second passion. His personal
experience with overcoming stage fright due to a required speech class he
took
in college has empowered him to want to help others with stage-fright and
other self-esteem issues in their lives. He teaches speech as passionately as
he does his writing classes because he knows, first hand, the impact a speech
class can have on an individual. He is, he says, a different person today
than
he was in high school, all because of taking a speech class and having a
speech professor who cared. His desire is to "pass it forward" to his
students.
Rhet/Comp. -- To hone the writing skills of already competent writers in
preparation for the SAT, college admission, and for their subsequent success
in college.
Speech -- To mold competent and confident speakers and to improve the
self-esteem of the students.