Ryan Darnell loves to see both sides of the coin. This year will be Darnell’s first year at Mid-Pacific, teaching Global Politics and U.S. History.

Having spent 12 years working in the DOE, Darnell decided it was time to move on and continue his personal growth as a teacher. He has always taught and been interested in history.

Darnell loves reading, specifically non-fiction. The bookshelf, which is jam-packed with historical texts, that lines his classroom wall is organized by eras with diverse perspectives.

Darnell appreciates this relatively new way of making history more accessible to the general public. This includes who provides, releases, and writes history, which has changed the way we view it.

“It takes a lot of different books–different takes on history–to get a well rounded idea of what happened,” Darnell said.

The bookshelf isn’t the only personable addition Darnell has added to his classroom. On shelves rest various plants and art projects.

The art projects are from his previous history classes. Darnell likes to provide different ways in which students can express their strengths that diverge from the more classical approaches. The goals of these projects are just the same, however: being able to showcase your understanding of a given topic.

“I just don’t believe that knowledge is represented in only one way,” Darnell said.

Darnell also likes to spend time with his son and coaches his Little League Baseball team. He used to coach high school football as well, but the experience is not similar.

“It’s quite different, if you can imagine dealing with five year olds rather than fifteen year olds,” said Darnell. “It’s forced me to definitely be more patient.”

Darnell shared it’s been a great experience coming to Mid-Pacific.

“It’s been pretty refreshing, being here,” Darnell said.