David+Ackley

As a student in school, I was average. I liked lunch and physical education class, and since I had nothing else to do, I kept going back. My coaches were great role models and in my eyes they could do no wrong. They looked after me as if I were their son. They kept me in school and gave me a purpose for being there. So I went to school to be a coach. However, after I took my first history course, I was hooked. I now teach history to 7th and 8th graders.

I received my graduate and undergraduate degrees from SUNY Albany. I have a B.A. in history, with a minor in education and a social studies masters degree. While working for Niskayuna, I have worked to become the best teacher that I can be. Since 2004, I have worked with SUNY Albany and the Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA). It has been through my work with CELA that I initially looked to improve the social studies, writing and thinking skills of my students. Now I am fortunate to be working with a team that utilizes CELA techniques to try to improve the critical thinking and writing skills of all our students. I have taken a number of workshops dealing with Differentiated Instruction, Backwards Design and Reading Skills. I can happily say that I have started to become the teacher that I someday would like to be.

I started teaching in 1989 at St. Mary’s school in Waterford. I taught social studies to 7th and 8th graders, reading, math and art. Unfortunately, I didn’t make enough money and left the profession for three years. Spending time away from teaching made me realize that I really wanted to work with young people. I came back to teaching in 1994 and worked at Bishop Maginn High School. There I taught 9th, 10th and 11th grade history. I also taught AP American History to eleventh grade students. In 1997, I was fortunate enough to be hired by one of the best schools in the area, Niskayuna High School. While in the district, I have taught AP Government, and social studies to 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students.

I moved to the middle school in 2000. I enjoyed working at the high school, but I always had a desire to work with younger students. I like the fact that with middle school students you can use a variety of activities to get them to learn. You can even have a little fun! My emphasis is to teach my students to be critical thinkers and writers in history. Through class discussions and an assortment of projects that measure the abilities of students with different learning styles, I hope to engage the students to learn and understand the material in depth and not just breadth. I also emphasize important skills that will allow the students to become successful in other classes and will allow them to become learners for life.

I am a dad and stepdad, so I have very little spare time. I try to get to all the kids’ extra curricular activities. I frequent basketball games, soccer matches and taekwondo tournaments. I also try to attend as many of their school functions as possible. I like to spend time with my wife golfing and camping. Old movies and reading history are my escape from the hustles and bustles of a hectic life.

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