•  Spring!
    Mr. Milton 
     
    Room:     A202
    Subject:   8th Grade English
      
      
    Welcome Back
    Time for the 2022-23 School Year
     
     

    2022-2023 

     

     

     

     
    Class schedule
      
    1st, 3rd-6th periods--ELA

    2nd period--Planning

     
     
    Biography

    My name is Andrew Milton and I teach 8th grade English at Pioneer.  I have been teaching 8th grade since 2006, all at Pioneer Middle School.   Prior to that, I taught political science at the University of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Washington, Tacoma.  From 2003-2013, I taught international relations as a part-time adjunct professor at Troy University (on Joint Base Lewis-McChord).  I have Bachelors degrees in political science and economics from the University of California, Davis. I also have advanced degrees in international affairs--from CSU, Sacramento, and political science--from the University of Oregon.
     
    I believe that a well-rounded education enables students to achieve two things: a solid foundation of knowledge in the subject areas of study, and the sharpening of the skills to flexibly and adaptively employ that knowledge.  I take it as my responsibility to prepare each one of my students for success in both these areas, so that they may achieve even greater success beyond my classroom.
     
    At the same time, Wendell Berry reminds us,
     
    “The complexity of our present trouble suggests as never before that we need to change our present concept of education. Education is not properly an industry, and its proper use is not to serve industries, either by job-training or by industry-subsidized research. It's proper use is to enable citizens to live lives that are economically, politically, socially, and culturally responsible. This cannot be done by gathering or "accessing" what we now call "information" - which is to say facts without context and therefore without priority. A proper education enables young people to put their lives in order, which means knowing what things are more important than other things; it means putting first things first.”