This week, Erik Skaggs is our EDMN: Teacher of the Week. Skaggs is an AP Biology teacher here at DHS. He enjoys AP Bio the most because of all the fun and interesting content he gets to teach students throughout the year. 

Skaggs started teaching to be a part of education. “I truly believe in public education and the importance of an informed and educated population.” His favorite part of being a teacher is interacting with all of his students. Skaggs only works half days, but his classroom is always full with previous and current students. AP Bio is a difficult class, but Skaggs makes it fun and interesting. His words of encouragement to his students are, “There is no crying in AP BIO!”

On a difficult day, Skaggs tries to think about the bigger picture and not get lost in the moment. If that fails, he thinks about Pickles, his golden retriever. His most rewarding moment as a teacher is getting handwritten thank-you cards from students. Harvison is a fellow teacher who has made a big impact on Skaggs’ life. “He makes me smile and laugh every single day, which is really the most important thing in life.”

Growing up, Skaggs was always interested in science classes, but ELA also sparked his interest. If Skaggs weren’t an AP Bio teacher, he said he would want to be a veterinarian or a birthday clown. An interesting fact about Skaggs is that he’s in a local band here in Durango and has an album out of Spotify now! Congrats Skaggs!