Education & Experience:
Rob has degrees in Forest Management, Philosophy & Religion, as well as English Literature & Language. He holds additional certifications as a Natural Resources Specialist, Wilderness First Responder, Wildland Firefighter, LNT Trainer, and ESL instructor. He has over a decade of experience as an outdoor educator and behavioral health specialist in addition to being an NC QMHP. He owns and operates a small farm in the Shelton Laurel valley where he focuses on regenerative horticulture, agroforestry, and raising his family.
Teaching Philosophy:
“Teach the children. We don’t matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin-flowers. And the frisky ones–inkberry, lamb’s-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones–rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves, and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion." - Mary Oliver
Favorite thing about kids:
I love their raw individuality, their sense of humor, and how they look up when planning mischief to see if you are watching. I admire their resiliency in the constant work of learning and growing.
Favorite thing about working at WBNS:
Having moved out to one of the most remote locales in Madison County, my wife and I were ecstatic to discover a school that mirrored our values while simultaneously providing the strong academic foundation we believe is necessary to set our children up for success in the modern world. As a WBNS parent, I am excited that my children will get to have such a wonderful education. Now as an educator, it has been my privilege to see the depth of intention and research involved in the design of the curriculum as well as its implementation. My favorite thing about working at WBNS is being a part of this community of truly wonderful human beings who have come together to make it all possible for the best of reasons: our children.