Welcome, scholars and parents. I'm Mr. Bassman. I'm looking forward to seeing how we can grow together to reach all of our goals. My expectations for my students are high, and I know that you can meet and even exceed them. At the same time, I want our classroom to be a safe environment for us to ask questions, try new things, and make mistakes. In fact, I believe that we grow the most when we make, acknowledge, and fix mistakes.
A little more about me: I grew up in North Hollywood, just two miles from Alliance MIT, and went to Millikan Middle School and Notre Dame High School here in the San Fernando Valley. Knowing my family would struggle to afford college, I worked as hard as I could in middle school and high school, and received a full scholarship to attend Oberlin College. I graduated with a BA in Creative Writing and minors in English, Environmental Studies, and Politics. In college, I fell in love with teaching when I had the opportunity to teach poetry lessons at a local middle school and acting lessons at a local correctional facility. I then worked as a substitute teacher and an assistant teacher at other schools before coming to teach at Alliance MIT last year. In my free time, I enjoy writing, reading, playing guitar, singing, acting, gaming, cooking, and spending time with my dog and my loved ones.
I believe that every minute of your education is valuable, so my personal teaching goal for this year is to keep up the pace without letting anyone fall behind. I will never give up on you, and I will never let you give up on yourself, either. If we work together and you believe in yourself, you can always be Respectful, Engaged, Accountable, Determined, and continue discovering just how bright Your Personal Best can be. In the words of Senator Elizabeth Warren: “The heart of really great teaching [is] that I believe in you. I don’t get up and teach to show how smart I am. I get up and teach to show how smart YOU are, to help you have the power and the tools so that you can build what you want to build.”