Name: Forest Castle

Positions: Teacher of English & Journalism; English Department Chair

College: University of California, Berkeley

Years Teaching at Selma
  High School: 28

Favorite Books: The Bible, Les Miserables, Brave New World;The Hero with A Thousand Faces

Favorite Writer: Shakespeare

Favorite Movies: Star Wars: A New Hope; It’s a Wonderful
Life; La Vita è Bella; Lion King; Babette’s Feast; Raiders of the Lost Ark

Favorite TV Shows: Sherlock, Seinfeld, Cheers,

Favorite Cartoon Strip: The
   Far Side

Born in Seattle and raised in Phoenix, I have always enjoyed school. I can still recall meaningful experiences at Central Methodist Preschool, Orangewood Elementary, and Washington High School. Looking back, the positive experiences in the classrooms of Mrs. Elder in kindergarten, Mrs. Johnson in first grade, Mrs. Massingale in second grade, Mrs. Miller in third, Mrs. Elerick in fifth, and Mr. Lutz in seventh, all played a role in my wanting to become a teacher myself, although I didn’t realize it until after college.

Berkeley also taught me some important tenets that I encourage my students today to consider: that living in place that’s different from what you’re used to can be a very good thing, and that surrounding yourself with big thinkers challenges you in good ways. Two of our sons have also gravitated to—and graduated from—Berkeley.

It was also at Berkeley where my interest in teaching came to fruition. I had been attending First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley during college, and it is there that I met my wife. After graduating, I was married and worked in advertising in Oakland for a few years. But the senior pastor at First Pres, Earl Palmer, continually inspired me through his sermons, which always invoked the arts—especially literature—to hammer home biblical ideas. Although I did not feel called to be a pastor, I did feel called, on account of Rev. Palmer’s influence, to do what he did: share truths about the the joys and perils of being human through the arts.

My wife and I moved to the Central Valley, and, after earning my credential from Fresno State, was hired by Selma Unified.

I love Selma High School, and am very honored to be a teacher here. The quality and vibrancy of the student body, and the caliber and dedication of the faculty and staff, make this place a wonderful place in which to work...and to learn.

My time in Berkeley was the most formative period in my life, partly because the students and professors with whom I learned were people who were truly making a difference in the world. I took classes from great teachers, two of whom are poets whose works my Selma students study in their textbooks today. And my boss at Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, where I worked as a biology and chemistry teacher, did no less than discover plutonium along with several other elements on the periodic table. Being able to pick their brains not only enhanced my desire to learn, but fueled my interest in many different subjects.

What values guide me as an in the class room? This New York Times article helps answer that question.

After graduating from high school, I felt a need to seek a college experience different from the comfortable confines of suburban Phoenix. Originally recruited to play soccer at Cal, I soon fell in love with Berkeley for its academics and dynamic learning environment. I majored in Humanities with an emphasis on Creative Writing, a focus that fed my appetite for learning about a wide variety of disciplines, from life sciences to mathematics, from the literary arts to history.