Carstens, Larry » Home Page

Home Page

Please click on the button  SEND EMAIL (on the left) to schedule a Parent Conference.
Por favor, haga clic SEND EMAIL (a la izquierda) al programar una reunión con los padres.
Welcome to the home page for Mr. Carstens (also known as "The Carstenator" or "Captain Quirk"). I have been a teacher at Poly since 1996, and my students, as well as my former students and colleagues make my job enjoyable and enriching. This site contains information about me, the classes I teach and how you can contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

To say a bit about my approach to teaching, I believe that education is one of the most important aspects of life, and so I take my job seriously and expect my students to work, to develop their literacy and to show respect. But I also believe that learning should be interesting and fun, and I agree with Dale Carnegie, who stated that: "People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they do." So my approach contains a balance between "serious work" and "fun work" --and I don't just teach "material" but I also teach students about life, good values and success.

Education:
South High School (Torrance, CA): Class of 1983
El Camino College (Torrance, CA): Attended 1984-1986
Cambridge University (England): Semester Abroad, Feb.-May, 1986
Loyola Marymount University (LA, CA): BA-English, 1989
Cal State Dominguez Hills (Carson, CA): Teaching Credential, 1991
Cal State Northridge, (Northridge, CA): MA-English, 2000
Life: All the time

Work:
Teacher, Poly High School: 1996-Present
Adjunct Associate Professor, College of the Canyons: 2001-Present
Co-Founder, Enrichment for Educators (Prof. Dev. for Teachers): 2001-Present

Hobbies/Interests/Stuff you wouldn't know unless you read it here:
• I have a beautiful wife and five wonderful children.
• I write and have sometimes been published.
• I play piano for a church choir.
• I lived in Spain for a year, and learned to speak Spanish fluently.
• I sometimes help Poly students to go to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Best Contact Email: [email protected]
(I can be contacted through the "Contact" link below, too, but I don't check that as often as the one above.)