Introduction

My name is Chris Mahalek and I am the History teacher at Alma High School and Alma Middle School.  Alma is about an hour south of Kearney.  If you have ever go to Harlan County Reservoir then just go to the west end of the lake you will run into Alma.  I love Alma because of the community and the students I teach in my classes.  I am finishing up my 5^th year of teaching Social Studies classes and coaching football.  When I started in Alma I coached both football and golf but now it is only football.  I wanted to cut down on coaching for various reasons:  My wife, time to earn my masters degree, and my second job with the Army Corps of Engineers.  My wife’s name is Sara Mahalek and we currently have no children.  I met Sara in college at the University Nebraska at Kearney.  Sara works at ESU #11 and makes the commute from Alma to Holdrege.  Sara likes working for the ESU because of her coworkers.  Alma Public Schools and the ESU do a great job of making you feel like family and they’ve proven to be understanding in situations such as family emergencies.  Over the past two years my father has had health problems and our two employers have been very understanding. 

My understanding of technology is above average.  I am not saying that I understand everything there is about technology but I can figure it out if you give me time.  I think technology is essential if you are a teacher in the 21rst century.  Technology is a necessity for today’s children because technology tools that they use in the personal lives helps to gain their interest in your curriculum.  I want to learn about technology so I can acquaint the students with the latest technology.  Currently, I use podcasts, PowerPoint Keynote, Greenscreen, Smartboard, and Moodle in my classes.  I am currently on a team of teachers that is going to be presenting at NETA this spring and talking about technology etiquette.  Our school has one-to-one computing with Macintosh laptops and all of the teachers have MacBook Pros.  In my classroom we have wireless connection with a Smartboard and a Mac desktop.  The Smartboard has a projector where I can access my computer from in front of the classroom.  I feel that the students use the Mac laptops to the best of their abilities and they have a leg up on the students who don’t have access to their own laptop. 

The reason why I am going after my Masters degree right now is because I want to earn this degree before we have children.  I always knew I would get my Masters one day it was just about timing.  Additionally I feel that after I have my degree in curriculum from Peru State then I will be able to better educate my students.  One of the pieces of knowledge that I have already received is that education is always evolving and you as a teacher need to be refining your curriculum to have better reach your students.  Another reason I chose Peru State College was because it is online and the price agreed with my budget.  I always hear about people who take out student loans and then struggle to pay them back.  Also I believe the cohort program has benefited me because I know that there is another person that is going through the same thing that I am.  It is very difficult taking nine hours a semester in my degree program, having four preps with different ages at my school, coaching football that starts in July, and working the night shift for the Corps of Engineers.  I like participating in my Master’s classes even though I have very little time to do so in my days. Finally I was thinking that after I get my Masters in Education about maybe attaining my Masters in Administration. If I go after my Administration degree then I will acquire it through out time.