Mr. Woodruff holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from San Jose State University. He considers himself to be an eternal student and while he was in college he often supplemented each class with a Modern Scholars or Great Courses class of similar content in order to bolster his education. Mr. Woodruff choose BASIS Independent because the instructive autonomy offered to teachers is something that excites him professionally. He is thrilled to teach with materials that he has curated because he thinks the materials are of most benefit to his students. Mr. Woodruff also believes that the program we offer prepares students to grow and learn at a high level, and thus inspires him to be the best educator he can in order to deliver at such an echelon. As a Subject Expert English Teacher who teaches Middle School level English courses, he will build upon the strong foundations built by the previous year’s teachers in reading, writing, and analysis. For the grades that he teaches, he will prepare them to succeed in their subsequent grade levels so that they will transition seamlessly to high school and be able to excel in that higher stakes environment. Mr. Woodruff thinks of teachers as guides. A quote by Bruce Lee sums it up very well for him, “A teacher is never a giver of truth—he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. A good teacher is merely a catalyst.” From his perspective, Mr. Woodruff’s job is to bring the enthusiasm for learning to the room and transfer that energy to the students. He continued, “A teacher is like the device of imagery— a teacher appeals to the five senses in order to conjure a visual idea.” Mr. Woodruff believes there are different ways of reaching individual students who each may learn best in a different way; visual learners and auditory learners for instance. In any lesson, students will have various opinions and questions and it is the teacher’s job to be prepared to answer but also to know when it is time to ask the student to sit with the information for a bit to draw their own conclusion. Review is important as well because a student may only need that little reminder and the information clicks into place. “Students learn best when their environment is properly prepared to engage them. Each student should be willing to take on new challenges and come prepared to learn.” He believes strongly that students are best engaged when they have the opportunity to be creative. He uses many activities that allow for creativity in the classroom such as creating riddles; creating news headlines or stories; visual depictions of the classroom material; picture equations and many more. Mr. Woodruff enjoys keeping students ready and engaged in lessons by choosing students at random to answer questions during discussions. One of his most favorite activities in the classroom is one he refers to as Silent Conversations. First, students engage in written conversations with a partner. We then review verbs and pronouns used in Shakespeare’s work, and the partner groups will use that review to then “translate” their various conversations into a dialogue resembling a Shakespearean play. The pairs then get to present/perform their conversations in front of the class. When he is not in the classroom, Mr. Woodruff spends much of his time in the presence of art. He thoroughly enjoys many art forms, but considers himself to be an aficionado of Illustration and Fantasy art and a dilettante of figurative drawing and painting.​​​​‌‍​‍​‍‌‍‌​‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍​‍​‍​‍‍​‍​‍‌‍‌​‌‍​‌‌‌​‌‍‌‍​‌‍‌‌​​‍‍‌‍​‌‍‌‍‌​‍​‍​‍​​‍​‍‌‍‍​‌​‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍​‍​‍​‍‍​‍​‍‌‍‍​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‍‍​‍​‍‌‍​‍‌‍​‌‌​‌‍‍‌‌​​‍‍‌‍​‌‌‍‌​‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍​‍‍‌‍‌​‌‍​‌‌‌​‌‍‌‍​‌‍‌‌​​‍‍‌‍​‌‍‌‍‌​‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌​‌‍‍‌‌‌​‌‍‌​‍​‍‌‍‍‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌​​‌‍‌‌‌​​‍‌‍‌​​‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌​‍‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‍‌​‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌​‍‌‍‍‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌​​‍‌​‍‌​‍​‍‌‌​‌‌‍‍‌​‌‌‌‌‌‍​‌‌‌​‌​‌‍‍‌​​‌‌‌​‍‌​‌‍‌‌‌‍‌​​‌‌‍​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌​‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌​‌‍‍‌‌‌​​‍​‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‍​‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌‍​‌‌‌​‌‍‍​​‌‌‍​‍‌‍‍‌‌‍​‍​‍‌‌