Walker Richmond – Social Studies

 Mr. Richmond is a new teacher here at WAHS. He was born in Charlottesville and attended WAHS before going to UVA, Dartmouth, and Columbia University to pursue law. While he was becoming a lawyer he worked partially as a teacher and ultimately decided to pursue teaching full-time. Mr. Richmond enjoys gardening and playing with his kids. He teaches twelfth grade government and ninth grade world history. 

Q: How are you this morning?

A: Good. I generally work better in the morning. I was glad to see my kids off to school this morning, a definite highlight of my day. I’m excited for this school year, to get to know my students and also for the cool, fall weather.

Q: What classes and grades do you teach?

A: 9th grade World History and 12th grade government

Q: What made you want to be a teacher?

A: I’ve always loved learning, since elementary school. I find the most meaning from my live in involving myself in the learning process with other people. I think teaching is fun and meaningful and so important in our lives. Everyone is constantly growing and learning at all times, and I love being involved in that process.

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: I have been teaching for 15 years, but in the middle of my teaching career, I was more involved in the law. I was a lawyer for about ten years, and still am, but have since concentrated more on teaching. So from start to finish I guess I’ve been teaching for about 25 years, but for those ten years I was not especially involved in the teaching profession. 

Q: What brought you to WAHS?

A: I grew up in Charlottesville and attended WAHS. I made plenty of fond memories, both through the learning experience and the great friendships I made here. And thought it would be a great place to work.

Q: What’s your teaching philosophy?

A: My teaching philosophy is that knowledge and growth are all around us. And our responsibility as members of society, is to learn and gain knowledge and grow. So my philosophy as a teacher is to try to find ways for each student to grow, learn, and mature to their fullest potential, in a way that works for them. I want to design classes that are fun and meaningful, and that engage different students in different ways. 

Q: Do you have any hobbies?

A: I love spending time with my family, taking walks with my wife and playing games with my kids. Me and my six year old play at Frozen, I’m usually Olaf. I also love music and gardening. Beethoven, Van Morrison, and Bruce Springsteen are all some of my favorites, and also, there’s this band called the tallest man on earth that I love.