The winner of this month’s staff shout out is none other than history teacher Tilghman Gordon. The man of many talents is just the first of the many amazing teachers receiving a shout out from The Current.

“I love that man. He’s awesome because he is so understanding of new transitions and our busy [International Baccalaureate] schedules,” senior Sarah Bamba, who has Gordon for her IB theory of knowledge class, said. “He is also very transparent—if he doesn’t know the answer to something, he’s not going to make you figure it out. [Instead], he tries to find the real answers for us.”

Even though his favorite color out of school colors is orange (obviously everyone knows the best one is blue), he still knows how to put a smile on his students’ faces after he presents them with this terrible information. Born in Eppingen, Germany, just north of Frankfurt, in 1986, this is his tenth year teaching, but only his sixth teaching at Watkins Mill.

“I hope this school year we have more student engagement with clubs and sports,” Gordon said. “This place can be a bit of a bummer if the only thing you have here waiting for you is schoolwork.”

Going through a lot of schooling just to return back to school, Gordon went to Florida State University for his undergraduate degree. He then earned a masters in teaching from Towson University and finally earned a masters in military history, focusing on World War II from the American Military Academy.

His favorite hobbies include scuba diving, surfing, snowboarding, reading, playing the guitar, and driving his car. On top of all that though, he loves cooking everything from mac and cheese for his kids to conch fritters.

“I am excited for the new school year,” Gordon added. “I have some new classes that I have never taught before and I’m excited to see how they go.”

Although he says “nailed it” every time he finishes his slideshow, Gordon truly welcomes questions and makes his students laugh.  Pumped up and ready to make anyone’s day, he is prepared for the school year and is eager to learn new things about himself and his amazing students.