Welcome.

I’m glad you’re here.

I’ve always admired people who can answer the question, “So, what do you do?” in a single sentence.

I’ve never been one of them.

The honest answer has changed throughout my life.

At different times I’ve been a musician, a software developer, a mathematics teacher, an international educator, a traveler, a writer, and someone who simply enjoys building things that help other people.

Those answers are all true.

But none of them really explains who I am.

Looking back, I don’t see a series of careers.

I see one long conversation with the world.

I’ve always wanted to understand how things work.

Sometimes that curiosity has led me toward music, where I learned that discipline and creativity can exist side by side. Sometimes it led into software development, where solving difficult problems became deeply satisfying—not because the work was technically challenging, but because a good solution could make someone else’s day a little easier.

Eventually that same curiosity led me into education.

People sometimes ask why I left software to become a teacher.

To me, it never felt like leaving anything behind.

It felt like continuing the same journey in a different classroom.

Whether I’m writing code or teaching children to read, the work begins in the same place:

How can I help someone understand something that felt difficult yesterday?

Curiosity has taken me into concert halls and classrooms, software projects and mountain trails, unfamiliar countries and conversations with people whose experiences differ greatly from my own. Each new chapter has changed how I see the world, but it has also reinforced a simple belief:

Learning matters most when it helps us understand one another, act with generosity, and create something useful.

That belief quietly shapes almost everything I do.

I enjoy building things.

Sometimes those things are educational resources.

Sometimes they’re software.

Sometimes they’re travel guides or websites.

Sometimes they’re simply ideas that help someone look at a familiar problem from a different perspective.

Creating something useful has become my way of saying thank you to the people, places, and experiences that have taught me so much.

Living abroad

Living abroad has changed me in ways I never expected.

Of course I’ve discovered beautiful places and unforgettable experiences, but those aren’t what stay with me the longest.

What stays with me are the conversations.

The classrooms.

The friendships.

The ordinary moments that slowly become extraordinary simply because they changed how I think.

I’ve learned that every place has something to teach us if we approach it with humility and curiosity.

Some lessons come from cities.

Others come from classrooms.

Many arrive unexpectedly while standing beside a quiet lake or walking a mountain trail.

Those experiences have deepened not only my appreciation for different cultures, but also my understanding of myself.

Paying attention

Photography has become part of that practice of paying attention.

Most of the photographs throughout this website are my own.

They’re less about documenting where I’ve been than preserving moments that invited reflection.

They’re reminders that the world often has something to say if we’re willing to slow down long enough to notice.

One continuing journey

This website brings together the different parts of my life that, at first glance, might seem unrelated.

Teaching.

Writing.

Technology.

Travel.

Photography.

I don’t really see them as separate interests.

I see them as different ways of exploring the same question:

How do we keep learning, and then use what we’ve learned to leave the world a little better than we found it?

You’ll find practical resources for teachers.

Stories from living abroad.

Thoughts on education, technology, and lifelong learning.

Photographs from places that encouraged me to stop and pay attention.

Projects that turn ideas into something useful.

Some pages may teach you something.

Others may simply invite you to pause.

If, somewhere along the way, you discover an idea that helps you think a little differently about your own life, then this website has accomplished exactly what I hoped it would.

I don’t think any of us ever really finish becoming who we are.

Life has a wonderful way of introducing us to new people, new places, and new questions just when we think we understand ourselves.

That’s one of the reasons I continue to love learning.

There is always another question worth asking.

Another place worth exploring.

Another person worth understanding.

Another opportunity to build something that might help someone else.

Thank you for spending a little time here.

Wherever your own curiosity is leading you, I hope you continue to follow it.

I know I will.

— Phillip