Who is Mr. McElroy?
Hi, my name is James McElroy, but most of my students over the years have just called me Mr. Mac. I am very excited to be your teacher this year for English 9/10. I know that, with some hard work on both our parts, we can accomplish great things together.
Here’s just a little about me:
I was born in 1970 in the smallest state in the nation, Rhode Island, but my family moved while I was still very young, so I have always called Pensacola, Florida my hometown. Pensacola is a pretty big city in sheer size, but it always felt like a small town to those of us who lived there. Despite the fact that it is in Florida, it is very close to Alabama and has a very “deep south” vibe; southern drawls, y’all’s, and yes ma’am’s were on the lips of everyone I knew growing up. I am very grateful for my southern upbringing because I believe it instilled some important qualities in me. I was raised to be very polite, not just to my elders, but to everyone I meet. I was raised to respect people and to expect to be respected in return. These are some of the same things that I have brought with me everywhere I have been in life and are a big part of what I expect in the classroom.
I graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1988. After graduation, I went into the U.S. Air Force where I served for four years. I was stationed, for most of that time, in Panama City, Florida at Tyndall AFB, but I had the opportunity to meet and work closely with people from all over America. One thing I learned from my time in the military was that we, as human beings, are an incredibly diverse group, and that it takes understanding and a willingness to really get to know someone for who they are to be able to work effectively with them. That, too, is something I hope to bring to this classroom this year.
After leaving the Air Force, I took my G.I. Bill money and entered college. I attended a small, private university in Central Florida; Southeastern University, for almost four years.
Now here’s where it gets good…I dropped out of college in 1995, just two classes short of my Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, packed everything I owned in the world into a U-Haul trailer, and moved 3,000 miles on a whim. From the moment I decided to make the move to the moment I arrived in California was less than a week. Crazy, right? To be honest, I just woke up one day and decided that I wasn’t happy with my life, so I chose to change it. To this day, I believe it is one of the best things I have ever done. I learned, through that move, that it is important to listen to your own heart above all else and to never be afraid to shake things up.
I took a couple of years off from school. I guess I was doing what some people would refer to as “finding myself.” What I found was that I wanted to teach. I was living in San Diego at the time, and I contacted my old college; which had recently opened up some on-line courses. I finished my B.A. in Communications in less than two months and enrolled at National University where I received a Master’s Degree in Special Education and my Special Education Teaching Credential. I have been teaching for over 12 years; adding a second credential in English along the way. I spent my first seven years teaching Resource English at Fresno High School, where I was also the Assistant Activities Director and Link Crew Coordinator. For 4 years, I taught 6th Grade Language Arts back in my hometown of Pensacola, FL and even taught elementary school for a year in Modesto. For three years, I taught English 10 at Merced High School and was the Link Crew Coordinator and the adviser for the Poetry Club. Three years ago, I made the move to Turlock High. I am really happy to now be part of the THS family!
This August 2020, my wife and I celebrated our sixteenth wedding anniversary. We have two children: J.T. who is 15 and Jillian who is 12. My family is incredibly important to me. In fact, I tell people all the time that my kids are the greatest thing I have ever done with my life. They are beautiful, intelligent, respectful, and polite. They challenge me daily, read voraciously, speak with confidence, and love with their whole hearts. These, too, are qualities I know I will find in each of you this year.
I will close by sharing some of my passions with you; aside from my family. I love the written word; especially poetry. I am an avid reader and writer. I have been writing poetry since I was in the 3rd Grade. I am also a SLAM poet; meaning I perform my poems all over Central California and compete with other poets for cash! I love music almost as much as poetry and I have been DJing professionally for about 20 years. I also sing and have been in bands, off and on, since high school. I have even opened for some pretty well known rock bands in my time (ask me...I might tell). I am a HUGE football fan! I love everything about the game! You will probably see me at a lot of the games that our Bulldogs play this year. My favorite college team is Alabama (ROLL TIDE), and my favorite NFL team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (GO BUCS)!
Finally, I love the English language! I think that words can be the most powerful weapons we can wield. They can also be the most potent medicine. I hope, as we go through this year together, many of you will discover your own passion for words and will learn how to better use them to accomplish the great things life has in store for you!
Hi, my name is James McElroy, but most of my students over the years have just called me Mr. Mac. I am very excited to be your teacher this year for English 9/10. I know that, with some hard work on both our parts, we can accomplish great things together.
Here’s just a little about me:
I was born in 1970 in the smallest state in the nation, Rhode Island, but my family moved while I was still very young, so I have always called Pensacola, Florida my hometown. Pensacola is a pretty big city in sheer size, but it always felt like a small town to those of us who lived there. Despite the fact that it is in Florida, it is very close to Alabama and has a very “deep south” vibe; southern drawls, y’all’s, and yes ma’am’s were on the lips of everyone I knew growing up. I am very grateful for my southern upbringing because I believe it instilled some important qualities in me. I was raised to be very polite, not just to my elders, but to everyone I meet. I was raised to respect people and to expect to be respected in return. These are some of the same things that I have brought with me everywhere I have been in life and are a big part of what I expect in the classroom.
I graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1988. After graduation, I went into the U.S. Air Force where I served for four years. I was stationed, for most of that time, in Panama City, Florida at Tyndall AFB, but I had the opportunity to meet and work closely with people from all over America. One thing I learned from my time in the military was that we, as human beings, are an incredibly diverse group, and that it takes understanding and a willingness to really get to know someone for who they are to be able to work effectively with them. That, too, is something I hope to bring to this classroom this year.
After leaving the Air Force, I took my G.I. Bill money and entered college. I attended a small, private university in Central Florida; Southeastern University, for almost four years.
Now here’s where it gets good…I dropped out of college in 1995, just two classes short of my Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, packed everything I owned in the world into a U-Haul trailer, and moved 3,000 miles on a whim. From the moment I decided to make the move to the moment I arrived in California was less than a week. Crazy, right? To be honest, I just woke up one day and decided that I wasn’t happy with my life, so I chose to change it. To this day, I believe it is one of the best things I have ever done. I learned, through that move, that it is important to listen to your own heart above all else and to never be afraid to shake things up.
I took a couple of years off from school. I guess I was doing what some people would refer to as “finding myself.” What I found was that I wanted to teach. I was living in San Diego at the time, and I contacted my old college; which had recently opened up some on-line courses. I finished my B.A. in Communications in less than two months and enrolled at National University where I received a Master’s Degree in Special Education and my Special Education Teaching Credential. I have been teaching for over 12 years; adding a second credential in English along the way. I spent my first seven years teaching Resource English at Fresno High School, where I was also the Assistant Activities Director and Link Crew Coordinator. For 4 years, I taught 6th Grade Language Arts back in my hometown of Pensacola, FL and even taught elementary school for a year in Modesto. For three years, I taught English 10 at Merced High School and was the Link Crew Coordinator and the adviser for the Poetry Club. Three years ago, I made the move to Turlock High. I am really happy to now be part of the THS family!
This August 2020, my wife and I celebrated our sixteenth wedding anniversary. We have two children: J.T. who is 15 and Jillian who is 12. My family is incredibly important to me. In fact, I tell people all the time that my kids are the greatest thing I have ever done with my life. They are beautiful, intelligent, respectful, and polite. They challenge me daily, read voraciously, speak with confidence, and love with their whole hearts. These, too, are qualities I know I will find in each of you this year.
I will close by sharing some of my passions with you; aside from my family. I love the written word; especially poetry. I am an avid reader and writer. I have been writing poetry since I was in the 3rd Grade. I am also a SLAM poet; meaning I perform my poems all over Central California and compete with other poets for cash! I love music almost as much as poetry and I have been DJing professionally for about 20 years. I also sing and have been in bands, off and on, since high school. I have even opened for some pretty well known rock bands in my time (ask me...I might tell). I am a HUGE football fan! I love everything about the game! You will probably see me at a lot of the games that our Bulldogs play this year. My favorite college team is Alabama (ROLL TIDE), and my favorite NFL team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (GO BUCS)!
Finally, I love the English language! I think that words can be the most powerful weapons we can wield. They can also be the most potent medicine. I hope, as we go through this year together, many of you will discover your own passion for words and will learn how to better use them to accomplish the great things life has in store for you!