Derek Smith, Neighbor

Derek Smith teaches reading and writing and advises the Arrow newsmagazine at Renton High School in Renton, Wash. His Patch column Snapshot from RHS provides a glimpse into the ordinary and sometimes surprising moments that happen at the real Renton High School.

Derek teaches because he loves working with teenagers and enjoys scheming new ways to reach them and trick them into learning. There was a time he thought himself more than a teacher and lived in a single-wide trailer on six acres in the woods. He wanted to steward the land without working on it. He now lives in a Seattle apartment.