EHS Pillars - Spring 2018

MARK MITCHELL
English Teacher and Coach
Mark Mitchell grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and taught
high school in Raleigh, North Carolina. He also
taught a first‐year writing course at the University
of Texas while attending grad school. Now in
his fourth year at Episcopal, Mitchell teaches
English and debate and coaches the JV
baseball team.
Mitchell took a break from teaching
after grad school to work as a
legislative aide at the Texas Capitol,
both in the House and the Senate.
After that he went to law school
and worked as an attorney. "Once I
realized how much I really hated being
a lawyer," he explains, "I came back to
teaching and joined EHS."
Mark and his wife, Brandie, stay busy
keeping up with their two little girls,
5‐year‐old Ella and 2‐year‐old Kate. But in
those rare moments of spare time, "I still manage
to get to the gym a lot and see a fair number of
concerts in town," he shares.
What's on your playlist right now? Audiobooks! Right now I'm listening to the last book in a trilogy called
The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin. If you like science fiction‐ish books, they're worth a read (or a listen).
What was the first concert you attended? I was lucky enough to see Stevie Ray Vaughn the year before
he died. It's still the best show I've ever been to. That guy was electric. If you weren't a teacher, what
would you pick for a career? I'd probably still be a fairly miserable lawyer or staffer at the Capitol. Not
miserable in the sense of being bad at those jobs—they just did not agree with my personality. What is your
proudest accomplishment? I don't have a proudest accomplishment. Once something is done for me, it's
done, and I'm on to the next thing. I try not to spend too much time thinking about the past or resting on
the things I've done. Do you have a favorite app or tech gadget? The Netflix app. When I was a little kid,
I dreamed of someday having a magic television that would have all my favorite shows. Having Netflix on
all my screens pretty much meets that definition. Did you have a mentor growing up who inspired your
career? My geometry teacher really inspired me. No matter how many times I'd go to her for help, she was
always patient, always kind. She never made me feel bad about how truly awful I was at any kind of math.
She was always intentional about identifying our strengths and encouraging us to grow. If you could travel
back in time, what period of history would you choose? I'd probably go back to my 9th grade year to tell
myself it's going to be OK. No matter how weird high school, college, and your early 20s get, it's going to
be OK. I'd probably also tell myself to place a substantial bet on the Atlanta Braves to win the 1991 pennant.
What trait do you most admire in your colleagues? Despite how incredibly busy everyone is, they all
come together whenever help is needed. Whether it's covering for a sick teacher or sharing resources,
everyone has a commitment not just to their students but also to each other. What trait do you most
admire in your students? The sense of humor my students show nearly every day. If I had a job like theirs—
seven different bosses with seven different sets of expectations—I'm not sure I'd show as much grace and
humor as they do. Read any good books recently? Ever since my senior year in college, I re‐read Moby
Dick every winter. I got a late start this year, and finished it in March. If you could eat only one meal this
week, what would it be? Whatever the taco of the month is at Torchy's. That place can do no wrong.
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