Clarke Brings Cultural Perspective

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Villalobos

Philip Clarke works with a student in his classroom earlier in the year. Clarke has been married for five years.

Philip Clarke seems just like a regular man until you get to figure out who he really is. When you first meet him there is something very obvious about him; his accent.

Clarke is from Ipswich, Suffolk which is a town in England; he lived there for about 25 years before moving to the United States.

You wonder why someone would leave their home to start over and create a new life somewhere else, for him it was his girlfriend. They met in college and it was history from there. He ended up getting married and they have been husband and wife for five years.  

They have two children , Lucy who is 8 and Henry who’s 2. Now, Clarke is a US History teacher making learning about the past fun. He didn’t just want to be a teacher; he actually also wanted to be a pilot. Clarke was even in the Royal Air Force Cadets when he was younger but unfortunately he could not fly the plane he wanted to because he had poor eyesight and could not afford laser eye surgery because, “ it was far too expensive at the time. “

Clarke majored in Latin and ancient civilization while in college which gave him more experience on the topics he would be talking about as a history teacher. Since he’s been teaching, he’s also been making class something to look forward to for many students.

“I could listen to him talk all day; this class doesn’t get so boring like any other class,” said sophomore Miah Sarchi.

Clarke stated that his favorite moments being a teacher are when the class is engaged in the topic.

“My favorite moment is when the class gets so involved with the topic that I really wouldn’t have to teach, I can just be a part of the conversation,” he said.

Something that impacted his life was meeting his wife. “I probably wouldn’t be teaching; I didn’t really have a path I was on before that.”  

Clarke wasn’t always as put together as he is now. “I am not as important as I think I am. Biologically teenagers are more selfish so (when I was that age) it gave my family a hard time. And myself, too.”

Clarke’s hobbies are playing games, gardening and running, although he says he runs less than he should. He also likes exploring places, but yet he has never broken any bones.

“Maybe a finger or a toe but I don’t think that really counts,”  he said.