I am Gary Goldstein, the 7th and 8th grade HGM social studies teacher. I was born and

raised in Texas and have a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of

Texas. I have a Master’s Degree in Humanities from Mt St Mary’s University in Los

Angeles. Teaching is my second career. I worked my way through college producing

music videos and commercials in Austin, Texas and then moved to Los Angeles where I

spent ten more years as an Assistant Director in Motion Picture and Commercial

production. This experience taught me how to solve problems in many different ways

and how to adapt to situations.

My teaching philosophy revolves around creating a safe environment for students to feel

comfortable taking academic risks. Our students are born with the gift of superior

intelligence but not with the skills to use it to its full potential. I use my experience to

teach my students how to analyze and solve complex problems using higher level

questioning and thinking skills to formulate new and different solutions to complex real

world problems.