Hello Friends of Room 2. Welcome to my personal page. This is where I get to talk about myself, but be duly warned, my life story is not all that interesting.
About Mr. B
My name is Andy Blumberg. I live in Palo Alto with my wife Mia. Mia is a clinical psychologist. We live with our three fat, gray cats – Pablo, Perloo, and Marcel. Marcel is naughty. He sprays everywhere. So, he stays outside. The room 2 kids think this is funny. But, I don’t! We have three wonderful children. Our daughter Antonia graduated from Palo Alto High School in 2008. She is currently a sophomore in the honors program at USC. My two stepchildren have already graduated from college – Yoshi from the University of Chicago, and Bianca from Brandeis University. Bianca is married and lives in New York. She’s expecting a baby in January. That means I’ll be a grandpa – Yikes!
Background:
I was born in Chicago. My family moved to Manhattan Beach, California in 1970. I spent my childhood mostly outdoors. I played just about every sport, especially my favorite – baseball. Of course, I spent a lot of time at the beach, as well, which was just a ten-minute walk from my house. I never learned to surf with a board, but I love body surfing. I have three siblings. My brother Dan is a psychologist. My brother Ron is an attorney, and my sister Dina is a writer. I’m the baby of the family. My father was a college professor and the mayor of Manhattan Beach. My mother is a poet and a kind spirit.
Most significant childhood injury: On the playground during school in second grade. I’m playing kickball. There’s a fly ball to Pat Chance in center field. I’m playing left field. I run as fast as I can to catch the ball. Just before I’m about to make an amazing catch my head collides with Pat Chance’s nose. That explains the scar through my left eyebrow.
Experience:
This is my 19th year of teaching! All of this time has been spent in kindergarten and first grade with the exception of two years teaching second grade and one summer teaching high school English. Before coming to Palo Alto, I taught in Richmond, Oakland, and London, England. My time teaching in a British school was challenging, yet highly rewarding. We loved living abroad and in such an exciting city as London, and we may have stayed longer if it wasn’t so darn expensive there. However, I love teaching at Palo Verde. I’ve been affiliated with a dozen elementary schools as a parent and a teacher, and I believe that Palo Verde ranks right up there with the best. Palo Alto school district is committed to supporting teachers and providing a stellar education for kids. I feel proud and fortunate to be working here.
Education:
I received my BA in English from California State University, Long Beach. After traveling the world – Europe, India, Israel, China, I earned an MA in interdisciplinary studies from JFK University with an emphasis in counseling psychology and education. Soon after, I got my teaching credential from California State University, Hayward, and began my teaching career. Still, I believe that education is a life long pursuit. Therefore, I am always looking for ways to learn and grow. Recently, I completed the 12 unit CLAD course (cognitive language acquisition development.) This summer I took three trainings during a four-week time period. I participated in a workshop with Lawrence Hall of Science developing new strategies for integrating literacy and science. I took the district training for the new math program, Everyday Math. And, I spent two weeks training with Theater Works learning methods in utilizing theater arts across the curriculum. (I’m excited about implementing all these new wonderful strategies into an already strong program.) Perhaps my best education, however, is in the classroom with the children. They always have something new to teach me!
Hobbies:
I spend most of my free time reading and writing. I’ll read anything from the classics to Baseball Digest. Recently, I finished War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy. This book is 1200 pages long! I figured, I’m never going to climb Mt. Everest or jump out of an airplane in my lifetime, but I can read War & Peace. Actually, I liked it! When I’m not reading I’m usually working on one of my stories. I’ve written about ten picture books – none are published, however I’m encouraged by the notion that the more rejection letters I receive the closer I am to signing a publishing contract. (Side Note: If you work in children’s publishing, or if you know someone who works in children’s publishing, I would be so very grateful if…)
In addition to reading and writing, I enjoy watching movies and drinking coffee with my wife, and following my favorite sport teams – The Cubs, The Lakers, and the University of California. Sometimes if inspired, I will even pull out my guitar. Unfortunately, I cannot sing!