Who is Chris Larson
My formative years
I was raised with the belief that if you have the ability to help others, then you have a responsibility to help others.
My parents instilled this belief within us by demonstrating it daily. My mother was kept quite busy serving our family of six kids. She served with my father as as both a pastor's wife and an officer's wife. And, yet, she still found time to serve as a volunteer with many community organizations. My father served proudly as a Marine in Vietnam. He then answered God's call to service and became a minister. While serving his congregation in a small church in Wisconsin, he also served in the Wisconsin National Guard. This led him to serve his country again, this time as an Army Chaplain.
My parents instilled this belief within us by demonstrating it daily. My mother was kept quite busy serving our family of six kids. She served with my father as as both a pastor's wife and an officer's wife. And, yet, she still found time to serve as a volunteer with many community organizations. My father served proudly as a Marine in Vietnam. He then answered God's call to service and became a minister. While serving his congregation in a small church in Wisconsin, he also served in the Wisconsin National Guard. This led him to serve his country again, this time as an Army Chaplain.
After retiring from the Army, he returned to service as a pastor, now in a small church in Montana. He remained busy after retiring from active ministry by serving in several capacities within his church's district. He even served his community on the local school board. None who knew him were surprised when confined to a hospital bed in his last few days, he continued to serve by advising and praying for those who came to see him.
As a boy grown into a man, it's only natural that I would strive to emulate the example given to me by my father. As both my father and my pastor, he was instrumental in the growth of my faith.
As a boy grown into a man, it's only natural that I would strive to emulate the example given to me by my father. As both my father and my pastor, he was instrumental in the growth of my faith.
I followed him into the Marine Corps, as did both of my uncles, my brother, and one of my sons. All of us served as one of the few and the proud. (His sister served in the Navy, but we don't hold that against her.) I have often considered following him into the ministry (and, at times, still do), but my life of service went the way of education. My entire family (parents, wife, siblings, and sibling-in-laws) are, or have been, educators of one kind or another. We have been pastors, teachers, professors, and professional mentors. People have asked me how long I've been a teacher. I answer that I've been a teacher my whole life, I've just been being paid for it for 25 years. Teaching is a job that I do to provide for myself and my family. What I am is an educator. It's a huge part of my identity.
My family
The Marine Corps brought me to Yuma 34 years ago. I admit to being less than thrilled. My family had traveled through here many times when I was a child on our way to visit relatives in California. I knew Yuma to be the place where you would stop for gas in the middle of a very hot desert so you wouldn't run out of gas in the middle of a very hot desert.
Over the years, I have grown to love Yuma, though. In no small part because this is where I grew love, literally. About six months after I arrived here, I met a pretty young woman who was willing to spend some time with a goofy young Marine (It was probably the uniform.). We married about six months later (I tend to be a little decisive.). That was 33 years ago. I love her more now than I imagined possible then.
Over the years, I have grown to love Yuma, though. In no small part because this is where I grew love, literally. About six months after I arrived here, I met a pretty young woman who was willing to spend some time with a goofy young Marine (It was probably the uniform.). We married about six months later (I tend to be a little decisive.). That was 33 years ago. I love her more now than I imagined possible then.
God blessed our love a few years later with a son, then a daughter, and then another son. I reminded my wife that I was one of six. My wife assured me that three was enough. Life happened for the next several years, full of laughter, love, and some tears. Then my oldest son added to our family by marrying the love of his life. (I don't like using the words "-in-law" when referring to her, because they don't convey just how perfectly she fits in our family. But, since it makes for some pretty awkward moments to say my son and daughter have two daughters, I decided to refer to her instead as my daughter-by-love.) God blessed all of our love soon thereafter by sending through my son and daughter-by-love a granddaughter and then another granddaughter (My son and daughter-by-love would say the girls are their daughters, but that's a matter of perspective.). All of us are now helping to grow these children whom we love so dearly.
My motivation
Any military brat will tell you that one of the most uncomfortable questions we face is, "Where are you from?". Military brats don't have a place they're from, we don't really have a home. We live the phrase "Home is where the heart is.". I no longer dread being asked, "Where are you from?". Now I have an answer. "I am from Yuma." I have a home now, because Yuma is where my heart is. This is the community I serve. That service will next come in the form of a seat on the Yuma Union High School Governing Board.
I have lived a life of dissatisfaction with our education system. As a child, I knew there were problems, but I didn't understand them. All I knew was that it wasn't working for me. I heard adults refer to my school years as the best years of my life and all I could think was, "I hope not.". School was usually a miserable experience for me. It always seemed a waste of time. I learned more at home just hanging out and talking with my family than anything we "studied" in school. I found school most tolerable by sitting in the back row and reading books during class. Looking back, I see I was educated despite my schools, not because of them.
As a parent, I saw the same problems persisted, but I had know idea how to solve them. My children weren't being served any better than I had been. Fortunately, they were more socially adept than I was, so they at least enjoyed their experiences. However, they weren't being educated any better. I had no qualms about pulling them out of school for trips to Disneyland because I knew they would encounter more thought-provoking moments there than they would in the classroom. I was now able to see that the problem was that the schools weren't trying to educate the students. The schools were focused achieving the results of education as if they could take the place of education. When students are educated, they write papers, do projects, and graduate. These are the results of education. By focusing on the results of education, the schools were bypassing the actual education. As a society, we have seen the results of this confusion of purpose reflected in decades-worth of graduates that show little to no evidence of being educated.
Like any new teacher, I walked into my first classroom fired up and ready to fix everything. That fire was quickly doused. I still wanted to fix everything, but I saw my efforts hampered by the system I was now working within. There were regulations that had to be followed and expectations that had to be met. I eventually realized that knowing the problem and how to solve the problem wasn't enough without the power to fix the problem. I tried spreading the idea from teacher to teacher, but that was slow and ineffective.
To fix the problems in our education system, I had to get out of the system. I know this won't be a quick fix. It will take a great deal of time and effort. I won't be able to get it all done by myself, and it won't be done all in one place, but it's gotta start with someone and somewhere. If elected, I can start the work here, at YUHSD.
I have lived a life of dissatisfaction with our education system. As a child, I knew there were problems, but I didn't understand them. All I knew was that it wasn't working for me. I heard adults refer to my school years as the best years of my life and all I could think was, "I hope not.". School was usually a miserable experience for me. It always seemed a waste of time. I learned more at home just hanging out and talking with my family than anything we "studied" in school. I found school most tolerable by sitting in the back row and reading books during class. Looking back, I see I was educated despite my schools, not because of them.
As a parent, I saw the same problems persisted, but I had know idea how to solve them. My children weren't being served any better than I had been. Fortunately, they were more socially adept than I was, so they at least enjoyed their experiences. However, they weren't being educated any better. I had no qualms about pulling them out of school for trips to Disneyland because I knew they would encounter more thought-provoking moments there than they would in the classroom. I was now able to see that the problem was that the schools weren't trying to educate the students. The schools were focused achieving the results of education as if they could take the place of education. When students are educated, they write papers, do projects, and graduate. These are the results of education. By focusing on the results of education, the schools were bypassing the actual education. As a society, we have seen the results of this confusion of purpose reflected in decades-worth of graduates that show little to no evidence of being educated.
Like any new teacher, I walked into my first classroom fired up and ready to fix everything. That fire was quickly doused. I still wanted to fix everything, but I saw my efforts hampered by the system I was now working within. There were regulations that had to be followed and expectations that had to be met. I eventually realized that knowing the problem and how to solve the problem wasn't enough without the power to fix the problem. I tried spreading the idea from teacher to teacher, but that was slow and ineffective.
To fix the problems in our education system, I had to get out of the system. I know this won't be a quick fix. It will take a great deal of time and effort. I won't be able to get it all done by myself, and it won't be done all in one place, but it's gotta start with someone and somewhere. If elected, I can start the work here, at YUHSD.
