Phillip Chardon - Technology/Leadership
hotep4all@gmail.com
http://technostudies.org

Hotep! That’s an Egyptian greeting that means “Peace!” My name is Phillip Chardon and that is how I start my class each day. I am the Technology/Leadership teacher at Animo Locke II. I love the school, the students, and my class, and I am glad to be here! I was raised on both the East Coast and the West Coast. Though I moved several times, I always noticed the terrible effects of poverty on people. In high school, I worked at night and got up very early to do my homework, making sure to never miss an assignment. My devotion to my studies paid off, and I made it to UC Santa Barbara. At UC Santa Barbara I took many ethnic studies classes and history classes. I was surprised to find that there was so much that I had never been exposed to about history in high school. I also became a major activist on campus, taking part in any protest that I felt was worthwhile. At the same time, many of my friends that I worked with in high school had taken different paths such as gang banging and prison. After my first year of college, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher and I knew that I wanted to teach in the hood. I graduated with a degree in history after four years. I went on to graduate school at UC Santa Barbara also, where I received my teaching credentials and a masters in public education. The last several years I have taught history at nearby Animo South LA Charter High School. I live very close by Locke and want to improve the community I live in.

My main reason for coming here are my friends from high school that did not go to college. Many of them ended up in situations that limited their lives. These were people that I felt were more intelligent than me, but did not succeed in school for various reasons. I hope that through the technology/leadership class, I will be able to inspire students to take an interest in their community, their culture, and in the world. I also came to Animo Locke II to join in with other teachers who have a similar vision. I hope that, together, we can make a positive impact on our students and assist them in achieving their goals.

Check out the feed to my class blog, technostudies.org, below!