I met Nicole at CMI’s 2017 Eastern National Education Conference while participating in her science immersion. She asked me if I’d give a perspective about a Charlotte Mason educated high schooler and whether I thought they would “succeed” at the college level, especially a nationally-known technical college. Before I do, it’s important I do 3 things first, so bear with me. I need to tell you who I am, tell you my knowledge & experience with CM; and finally, tell you a little about my institution.

I am a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, active duty now for 22 years. I am an Assistant Professor and Senior Military Faculty (essentially, tenured military) at the Air Force Academy, having taught Mechanical Engineering for 10 years of my career. My bachelor of science is in Engineering Mechanics from the Academy (’95) and I hold an MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering, both from Georgia Tech. My subarea of interest is mechanics of materials (what things are made of and how they fail), but I have taught everything from core engineering fundamentals, to fatigue, to experimental mechanics.  Continue reading →