Dear students,
My philosophy of teaching is simple: I will push the boundaries of learning by asking you, my
students, to reflect, uncover, pull apart, and bring together course material in a way that meets or
exceeds my expectations. More importantly, though, I want you to exceed your own expectations. You
should always push yourself to ask questions and dive deeper into the rich story of our course material.
Don't worry!—It will take some hard work, but it will also be exciting and fun. Above all I want you to
do justice to your own learning ability.
But before I go any further, allow me to introduce myself. I grew up in San Diego and attended PB
Middle School and Mission Bay High School. In high school I would wake up at 4:45 AM and groggily
head to the beach for a quick (yet satisfying) surf before school. If the waves were big I would leak salt
water out of my nose all day—one time I even short-circuited a keyboard at school on accident (don't
tell though!). I remember being an awkward 9th grader trying to bridge the gap between being cool and
being myself. Everyone in this class should feel free to express themselves without worry of judgment.
Everyone is cool in my book, unless, of course, you forget to do your homework.
After high school, I entered UCSB as an art history major. Later I would add on a religious studies
double major with a minor in technical communication. I spent several months my junior year studying
archeology in Ankara, Turkey. On the plane ride over I scrambled through a Turkish phrase book.
When I landed I basically knew two words: yes and no. I was scared, intimidated, nervous, and
strangely optimistic. The optimism came from a quiet voice in my head that told me that though my
time in Turkey might be tough, it would also be full of learning. While I was there I learned I didn't like
archeology—too much treatment of history like it was some sort of dead artifact. Yet, what I did learn
was that risk is rewarded and that learning something new—in the class or outside—is deeply
satisfying.
After I graduated in 2008 I spent half a year living in the Dominican Republic teaching kiteboarding,
and surfing as much as possible. Like my experience in Turkey, the everyday struggles (not all of it was
a struggle, trust me!) in the Dominican Republic made me appreciate learning and the learning process.
For example, I learned that you can fit a lot more people in a car than you think. At one point I was in
big public taxi van called a “gaugau” with twenty eight other people, a driver, plus my surfboard
hanging out the front window. Sometimes there was so little room on the inside of the van that I was
forced to catch a ride on the outside, which was not very safe.
After the Dominican Republic I came back to Santa Barbara and started grad school in the religious
studies program at UCSB. After earning my masters in the program, I switched my emphasis to
secondary teaching, which is where I am today. Of all the jobs I have ever had (pool lifeguard,
construction laborer, surf camp instructor, kitesurfing instructor, valet parking captain, steamboat
deckhand, commercial salmon fisherman, and substitute), teaching has been the most dynamic and
powerful. I consider myself lucky to be spending time talking about the stuff I love—history, health,
geography, politics, and current events with students like you.
Thank you,
Kurt Miller
kurt.miller@venturausd.org