About the Challenge Teacher
Brian White

I grew up in Southern California, the fourth son of two teachers. Three of my grandparents were teachers. I skipped third grade, and graduated from high school at 16. It was very clear to me that I was not grown up enough to begin college, so I started working. I spent the next twelve years in a variety of food and beverage jobs, and finally earned a B.S. in Business Administration when I was 25.

I have been teaching since 1987, beginning with first grade, then second grade the following year. After that, I substituted in grades K-8 for more than a year, and eventually did two semesters of long-term substituting in language development programs. I spent the next six years as an elementary math specialist, then five more, teaching information literacy in elementary school computer labs and libraries.

It has been my privilege to work with gifted children for the past six years. What I love best about teaching are the opportunities to guide the development of children’s thinking and problem-solving skills and strategies.

For the last twenty years it has been my goal to integrate technology into my own teaching, and into learning opportunities for my students. I have found that word-processing, and especially the opportunity to publish their writing on the World Wide Web has been powerful organizational and motivational tools for improving student writing. Please see http://www.dpsk12.org/manila/schools/elementary/holm/HolmlastingpermGEM.pdf  if you would like to empower your child to polish their best writing so that we can  "Staple It ToThe World!" I also enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for computer use with other teachers.

My wife and I celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary this past summer!  Our son is a high school senior this year, and our daughter is starting middle school. We also have an exchange student from Tianjin, China joining our family for this year. I enjoy writing, puzzles, problem-solving, woodworking, hiking, swimming and bicycling. My favorite pastimes are reading, cooking, and fixing things around the house.