Contact | Biography

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John C Flavin

johncflavin@gmail.com
(360) 710-2721
Baltimore, Maryland

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About John Flavin

John Flavin is currently writing a collection of essays about his unconventional journey through America’s public school system, as both a student and teacher. He writes with conviction that, only when the dignity of the child remains fixed as the first lens through which we plan and administer an educational system, will students engage with real and long-term learning. From his childhood living off Eight Mile Road outside of Detroit, through self-discovery during his young adult years in the Pacific Northwest, to his current determination to serve children in his teaching position in Baltimore, John has touched and tasted a little of everything in his quests to educate and to be educated.

Education

In 1983, after John’s mother died during his junior year in high school, he moved to Seattle where he earned bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Comparative History of Ideas at the University of Washington. In the 1990s, John led a short video group in Seattle, spent a few years editing video, wrote a 400-page unpublished satirical novel about the afterworld, and he wrote, directed, and produced a 30-minute radio story. He further educated himself by enrolling in numerous stand-alone graduate courses from academic institutions such as Portland State University, University of Oregon, University of Massachusetts, and Harvard University. During this time, he broadened his academic experiences by exploring diverse subjects like linguistics, class, work, fundamentalism, sociology of aging, Chaucer, and Universal Design for Learning, among others.

In 2006, after earning a master’s in Education, he was 39 when hired for his first job as an English teacher in Molalla, Oregon, a rural town outside of Portland.

Further

At Molalla High School, he was advisor for the school newspaper and magazine, Chair of the school’s Planning Committee, and Chair of English Language Arts department. For nine of those years, he was a contributing freelance writer and photographer for The Oregonian, as well as a number of articles in other publications.

Today

Currently, John lives in Baltimore County, where he teaches, writes, and is finishing a master’s in Creative Nonfiction Writing at Goucher College. At Kenwood High School, he continues to teach English to the neighborhood’s underprivileged students, and he is the Advisory Committee coordinator.

In Maryland, his knowledge, experiences, and insights have coalesced into an unambiguous view of education in America.

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Portfolio of Other Genres

John has written in many genres and welcomes opportunities to create and/or collaborate on a new writing projects. He is always interested in publishing his work, discussing new writing projects or proposals, and receiving feedback.

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Articles

St. Louis, Missouri | Feast Magazine human interest story about the personal tragedy of area wine connoisseur, Darryl Vennard: “After Tragic Family Loss, St. Louis Food Community Rallies Around Corked Tree.”

Oregonian op-ed on the state of American public education: Diane Ravitch, a historian of education, an educational policy analyst, and a research professor at New York University, posted this article.

“What if…” A lead feature article on a local public transportation tragedy and what it meant for the Seattle-area residents.

Book review on Charlie LeDuff’s book, Detroit: an American Autopsy. 

Art review on Woodburn, Oregon artist Doug Mosley.

A Family Builds an energy-independent house out of straw; a human interest story.

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Satire

The Big World 

A completed satirical novel about the one, real afterworld. The Director of Limbo and narrator of the story, Neither-Nor Johnson, takes the reader on an absolutely true tour of heaven and hell in a race to prevent Satan from being “loosed out of his prison”, as we have all been promised in the Holy Bible.

110,400 words.

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Science Fiction

Lorac

A science fiction, post-post-apocalyptic novel. The main plot takes place far in the future, 4447, long after the swelling human populations had been wiped out and every scrap of ice on the Earth melted. Small tribes are scattered around the globe and worldwide population is at pre-historic levels–about 15 million people. There are two main societies: those who still believe in progress and those who aim to control it.

28,750 words. 

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 Social Commentary

“More, I Want More”

Social commentary about how the last 45 years have propagated Americans (in particular) who incessantly seek more; it touches on some of commercial, political, and psychological explanations. It makes a serious proposal that capitalism has reached its height and is written with a light-hearted and humorous tone. (While not an academic piece, citations and links are provided.)

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Academic

“Effective Ambiguity in A Clockwork Orange“

This academic essay was written at Portland State University. It analyzes the use of language and how that language affects the reader’s experience. A Clockwork Orange, written by Anthony Burgess and published in 1962, he employs English, Cockney English, and a Russian-influenced argot called “Nasdat”.

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Radio Story

“The Curse of Ted Gunderson

I wrote, directed, and produced a 30-minute story that aired on late-night radio in Los Angeles. This story pokes fun at people who believe they are the focus of an insidious invisible power, and therefore supposedly cursed, it carries a Twilight Zone-like feel.

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Other

52 Weekends in Seattle

I wrote the “edgy” blurbs for Ink & Paper Group, a former Portland publisher, who printed a deck of cards to inspire locals to enjoy the city of Seattle, or for the tourists to find something fun to do.

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John C Flavin
Writer | Educator

johncflavin@gmail.com
(360) 710-2721
Baltimore, Maryland

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