By Mircka Garcia, Staff Writer
After starting as a peer resource assistant over 28 years ago, school librarian, Mr. Phelps, has held 4 different teaching positions over the course of his almost 30 years at Galileo. The positions Mr. Phelps has held include; 3 years as a peer resource teacher, 2 years as an ethnic studies teacher, 13 years as a history teacher, and 9 years and counting as the librarian.
Mr. Phelps didn’t always want to have a career in education though, as he felt left out and ignored by his teachers throughout much of the time he was in school. Mr. Phelps spent 5 years away from education while he worked in carpentry, but eventually grew bored of the work. He wanted a job that, according to him, would bring something new and exciting and different every day.
After returning to school and graduating from college with a major in history, Mr. Phelps was assigned to Galileo after being encouraged by a friend to apply as a peer resource coordinator . Later, he was asked to become a full time teacher, Mr. Phelps returned to college to receive his teaching credential.
After receiving his credential, Mr. Phelps first taught as an Ethnic studies teacher, which was a huge passion for Mr.Phelps throughout his time at college, as he had taken many classes on the subject. While he was an ethnic studies teacher, his goal was to encourage them to become decent citizens and to be content with their life when they grow older. Unfortunately after two years the district no longer offered ethnic studies at Galileo.
But fortunately Mr. Phelps would switch from an ethnic studies teacher to a history teacher, which he found to be crucial for students as well. He said, “History is the importance and the relevance of it in their life.” He would go on to teach history at Galileo for 13 years before the death of a dear family member forced him to take a year sabbatical and get away from teaching.
In 2013, when Mr. Phelps was looking to return to Galileo, the former librarian was in the process of resigning, and the school offered the position to Mr. Phelps. Although he had never thought of becoming a librarian Mr.Phelps accepted. He said, “It seemed like it was a nice change from teaching, and I was still at school”.
As the librarian, Mr. Phelps has put a lot of work into having the library. He mentions the library was not what it is today, which is a central place for students to come and enjoy. Mr.Phelps does not have any plans on leaving Galileo any time soon, however he states that returning to teaching students at Galileo as a teacher is not off the table.
