THE IGSS TEACHERS
The most basic thing I do as a teacher is to help realign students with the process of learning. For me, that means trying to undo all the negative associations students have with the classroom, with schoolwork, with all intellectual effort…
I stand by my long-held belief that humans are designed to love learning - that there is an excitement and pleasure built into the process of assimilating information, connecting ideas, expanding one's consciousness, and of resolving contradictions in one's beliefs. More than anything else, I believe it is my responsibility to help students get back to this orientation.
In a better world, every student would walk into the classroom excited to talk, to read, to take creative chances, and to think critically. Unfortunately, this isn't so; therefore, I must make it my priority to help them return to a world where learning is exciting, where thinking is fun, and where knowledge leads to personal and group empowerment.
JEFF MARKHAM
Coordinator/English
I was born in Washington, DC, graduated from Georgetown University and then spent the next decade of my life doing things like: Americorps (twice), picking blueberries on an organic farm for a summer, backpacking throughout the west, serving in the Peace Corps, and having other fun adventures that did not apply to my degree. Teaching seemed like a natural fit; I earned my Master's in Education from Northwestern.
I served on the strategic plan committee from which IGSS emerged and was thrilled by the discussions we had about education and how to create a school that incorporates more autonomy and self-direction for students. We continue to have those same conversations, recognizing that IGSS is a work in progress and is shaped by all community members, especially our students. As a teacher in IGSS, I am challenged to think about teaching and learning in a very different manner, a process that is exciting (and sometimes painful).
LINDSAY TOBIAS
Coordinator/Social Studies
Teaching in the IGSS program has been one of my favorite parts of working at New Trier. IGSS presents the unique opportunity to collaborate with such a creative group of teachers on a daily basis, and their collective energy has enlivened my teaching practice in all areas of my work at New Trier. I also love that IGSS emphasizes collaboration between students and teachers. One of my goals as a teacher is that my students grow their confidence in their ability to read, interpret, and add their voice to the world around them. Working side by side with students as they develop those skills makes teaching deeply enriching for me.
In addition to being an IGSS English teacher, I am an adviser, and I am the Head Coach of the Girls Swimming and Diving Team. I have taught a variety of different "standard" English courses as well. I'm a parent of two very energetic boys, I play the drums and am learning to play guitar, and I like to run, bike, and spend time out of doors. I'm looking forward to a great school year!
MAC GUY
English
I believe that it is critical for students to be able to see themselves in the history we study: their people, their perspectives, their identities, their stories. Part of this is my job - making history relatable to students. And part of this is our job - a community of scholars (students and teachers), citizens, co-collaborators using what we study to help us build a better society. I am very excited to join the IGSS faculty to collaborate in efforts to empower students to find their voice, encourage them to take charge not only of what they study but how they investigate topics and present their findings. I’ve had a number of jobs at New Trier over the last couple of decades, but I really am most excited about joining this program. When we have some down-time in class, I’m sure I can be convinced to tell some stories from my time in the navy.
When I’m not teaching, I’m reading sci-fi books on the couch with my dog, Marcel, playing video games, mountain biking, or hanging out with my family (shout out to a certain geography teacher and a couple of fantastic kids).
TODD MAXMAN
Social Studies
I am an artist and a teacher. I'm a 1.5th generation Chinese-American by way of Colombia, South America. My family immigrated to the United States and settled on the Southside of Chicago where I still live with my book-nerd of a partner and perfectly imperfect child.
I strive to teach with love and humor. I would love it if my photography students turned their film in on time. As a teacher I want to encourage students to think critically, but with empathy, and to never accept the status quo as a predominant part of their lived experiences . My teaching style reassures failing as a learning step, experimenting to broaden your perspectives, and growing and learning in the rough moments.
TOM LAU
Art
The most effective teachers in my own life foster classroom environments that are defined by humor, inquiry, and creativity. They model enthusiasm for their teaching as well as their art practice. It has been in these classrooms that I accessed and learned to harness a wellspring of my own curiosity and motivation which continues to shape and sustain my life's work. It is my goal as a teacher now to create similar environments and opportunities together with my own students.
I am the daughter of a teacher and an artist so it took many years before I understood that I would become a teacher and an artist. In the meantime, I tried almost everything else, from florist to factory worker to grip and electrician. Then, in 2002, on a road-trip to Houston, an epiphany in front of a monumental painting set my focus, like a laser, on art and education.
I was born in Chicago, and I grew up in Canada. I am sansei (third-generation Japanese American). I live in the West Loop with my partner.
GARDINER O’KAIN
Art
Carlos arrived in our learning community as a model for a life-drawing class taught by an IGSS student during the first year of IGSS. As the story goes, Carlos was transmuted from an ordinary pheasant into something much more by the shotgun of the student’s father. After the life-drawing class, IGSS students grew close to Carlos and began to crave his company. A being of infinite wisdom and infinite jest, Carlos remains with us today as a spiritual guide, a comfort to the distressed, and a master of ceremonies during the house sorting process and the “IGSS-uation” graduation ceremony for seniors. He would urge you to remember:
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” -Maya Angelou