Hello Beautiful People,
Doug Robertson is a teacher, father, quite the comedian, and the author of the book, He’s the Weird Teacher. I couldn’t think of a better person to round out the School Time Author Q&A Series at The Write Teacher(s), and am absolutely thrilled to introduce him to you all!
Ladies + Gents, meet Doug Robertson…
MM: First things first, did you ever envision yourself as an author?
DR: Yes. I’ve always wanted to be an author and wrote a bunch of short stories as a kid, which I talk about in the book. I’ve also got two second draft novels sitting on my Drive waiting for me to get back to.
MM: What’s one of the greatest moments of your teaching career?
DR: Watching my student teacher get herself a job. I had Bethany for a semester one year, then the next year she came back to me for the entire year, and at the end of that year I moved away from the school. She took my place. I could not have been more proud of her. Those kids are lucky to have her, she’s an excellent teacher. And, immodestly maybe and not to take away from her talent and hard work, I know that one of the reasons she’s able to be successful is my mentorship. I feel incredibly proud of both her and Matt, my other student teacher, because they are being successful in the field. Being a mentor teacher allowed me to not only teach my students, but forward the profession. I express as often as possible how important it is to me that those two things happen.
MM: Just for fun, if you were stranded on a desert island, what movies would you want to have with you?
DR: I’m obsessed with Pacific Rim right now. So that, plus Jaws, M*A*S*H, Monty Python Quest for the Holy Grail, and Spinal Tap. Then probably a documentary on survival and raft building. You know, to be practical. And Justin Bieber’s new movie. Because he’s dreamy.
MM: If you had to choose five musicians to listen to for the rest of your life, who would they be?
DR: I’m going to cheat and say bands rather than musicians. The Beatles, for sure. Devin Townsend if I get all his various projects (DTP, Strapping Young Lad, Ziltoid etc). Henry Rollins is my hero and can’t be left off the list. Rush is variety. And Queen, because again, tons of variety, and very, very few clunkers.
MM: Just for fun, what books are permanently on your bookshelf?
DR: Childhood’s End, by Arthur C Clarke, Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlien, Fargo Rock City, by Chuck Klosterman, Name the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss, Charlotte’s Web, by EB White, Matilda by Roald Dahl. Everything Seuss ever wrote, and, Watchmen, by Alan Moore and David Gibbons.
MM: Do you write at a particular time of day and/or at a particular place?
DR: Before my son was born I wrote whenever I wanted, mostly after I worked out. Runs, rides, or swims were where ideas would come from, so I’d get home and it would be a rush to shower before getting to the keyboard to get all those words onto a page. Since my son was born I write when he lets me. Nap times. Recess and lunch at school. After he’s gone to bed. We haven’t had a real dining room table in an apartment in a while, so I normally write on the couch with my laptop on top of my lap or on a coffee table (read: plastic storage box).
MM: Can you describe your writing process for our readers?
DR: Like I said in the previous question, a lot of my ideas come from movement. When I’m running, swimming, on the bicycle or motorcycle. My mind is free and finds things, makes connections. When an idea hits I get it down as quickly as possible, free to let the first draft be as rubbish as it needs to be. That takes a lot of trust, because I can see problems as they come out, but they need to be there for now. The ideas are more important.
Then I go through and edit and fix and cut. An author I like once described editing as finding the stupid and getting rid of it. I’ve never been great at trimming my own work, so having a friend read what I wrote once I’ve gone through a few drafts helps. Blogs go up with only a once-over. When I wrote for the fitness website active.com I’d get the article done quickly, and go over a few times, the have my editor do the last pass. The book took much longer, because I polished more, was my own editor, and wanted everything I had to say to come across as clearly as possible.
MM: What’s the biggest thing you hope readers will take away from He’s The Weird Teacher?
Empathy for children and joy in the job for both us and the students. I think sometimes we forget our students are children, and more than that, they are actually small humans who will someday be large humans. We need to remember to think about them like future adults. Sometimes it’s hard.
And we need to find joy in teaching. It’s a job that can beat us down. So many things fall down on teachers from high above that we often feel powerless. Politicians making policy. Superintendents making policy. Administrators trying to implement both policies while run the school and worry about test scores. Parents worried (or sometimes not worried enough) about their children. And then there’s the kids themselves, who can be hard enough to be a drain all their own. We need to remember this is a fun job. This is the best job. Kids are awesome. They are hilarious. I spent a lot of time in the book stressing ways we can enjoy the job and they ways students can enjoy being with us. We have to be together for 180 days. Might as well enjoy it.
Students can learn from hard teachers. But students will want to learn from a teacher they like, even, dare I say, love.
MM: What’s next for Doug Robertson? (In terms of new and upcoming projects.)
DR: I’m not quite ready for He’s the Weird Teacher 2: Revenge of the Kindergarteners. It took seven years of teaching experiences to write the first one. Instead I’ve taken to YouTube, producing short weekly videos I’m calling The Weird Teacher’s Classcast. In them I tackle issues I think are important and interesting for teachers. I’ve only done three so far. The first dealt with encouraging young people to become teachers, something I’ve seen discouraged by current teachers, which makes me sad. The second talked about motivating students. And the third was my holiday episode so I read How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
I’m trying to focus on getting He’s the Weird Teacher out into as many hands as possible. I’m doing readings, I’ve got one planned for my alma mater, The University of the Pacific, in March. And I’m thinking about moving my own education forward, weighing different Masters programs to see what will suit me best moving forward in my education career.
And I’ll get back to those other two books eventually. They need some love.
MM: In today’s economy, arts programs are being cut. What reasons would you give to a politician for preserving the arts?
DR: Artists reflect the human experience. Artists have the ideas, scientists make it happen. Think of how many scientists were influenced by Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. Your iPhone looks like it does and does what it does because an artist had an idea. Imagination creates.
We are the music-makers, we are the dreamers of dreams. Without art the world is a dull, featureless place. It becomes Orwell’s 1984. It becomes a place no one wants to live.
And, because politicians live and die by the dollar, art brings money into the economy. Music, movies, painting, sculpture, people will pay, Ray. People will pay. You can’t test art, you can’t assess it with a computer program. You can’t quantify it. You can enjoy it, embrace it, and encourage it.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
DR: In He’s the Weird Teacher I talk about Jeffery Ingman, my theater arts teacher in college. He was very inspiring not only in what he taught me about theater and performing, but in how he taught. I have been very inspired by his teaching style and how free he was in the classroom.
Brian Yep, who was a leader when I was a lifeguard and who I also talk about in the book, taught me a lot about leadership and responsibility. He was Yoda for me in many different ways for many years.
Thank you, Doug! And all you Write Teacher(s) Readers – whether you are a teacher, student, mother, father, artist, writer – be sure to check out He’s the Weird Teacher, now available here on Amazon!
Live, Love, Learn,