Doug Davis – 7th grade Science teacher and 7th/8th grade Media Tech teacher

Location: Islander Middle School

Job Description: Doug teaches general science to about eighty (80) 7th graders and Media Tech to over fifty (50) 7th and 8th grade students. His science classes cover physical science, the chemistry of matter, life science, genetics, evolution, plants and animals, microscopes and human biology. Media Tech students produce video news clips every other Monday, including fake commercials, announcements, teacher features, teacher/student competitions and more.

Typical Day: There isn’t one. Doug arrives at 8 am and begins with first and second period Media Tech classes. These classes involve a lot of troubleshooting with students to figure out the technology and to develop ideas. “My role is to help them come up with programming that is good-natured, fun and friendly,” says Doug. His science classes are “not the read-the-book kind of classes. All of us teach through hands-on experiences and constructivist learning. Today we are doing a chemical reactions lab, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen to show the difference between elements and compounds.”

Best part of the job: “Every day is different, every year is different. People sometimes ask me how I can do the same job year after year, but there are so many personalities to work with it’s like coming to a new job everyday. I always enjoy coming to work in the morning.”

Something people may not know: “I got good grades in school, but I was a terrible student because I never worked at it. I decided to become a teacher so I could be better than the ones I had.”

Years worked in the district: 16 years.

Outside interests: Doug and his wife Tahne Davis, a graphic designer, have two boys ages three and seven. They recently moved to Mercer Island from the Mt. Baker neighborhood. “We are an active family,” said Doug. “We spend lots of time biking, skiing, playing sports with the kids – anything outside.” Doug is also an elite level cyclist in the Pro 1 and 2 group. That means he rides with pro cyclists when they come to town! Doug confesses to owning 11 bikes. “You could say I have a passion for biking and bikes,” he says.