Tisha Richmond is a passionate and innovative Tech Instructional Coach and high school Culinary Arts teacher from Southern Oregon. She is passionate about infusing joy, passion, play, and gamified strategies into classrooms to make learning MAGICAL. 

Tisha was awarded the 2018 Golden Pear High School Teacher of the Year award and speaks nationally on gamification and various innovative strategies. She is a connected educator that is continually collaborating, sharing, and learning with her Personal Learning Network. Her book Make Learning Magical was released by Dave Burgess Consulting in the Fall of 2018. Our conversation was so much fun. Enjoy!
 
You and your family
I have a beautiful family of four where we live in Medford, Oregon. My husband, Russell, and I have been married 21 years. He is a ceramics teacher and teaches at the same school as me. We have two wonderful kids. My daughter, Ella, is a sophomore at Portland State University and is studying anthropology. My son, Tommy, is a junior in high school and is amazing as well. Both are brilliant and different in amazing ways.

My family: Husband Russ, HS Ceramics teacher
Daughter Ella, Sophomore at Portland State University
Son Tommy, Junior in High School
 
What it was like for you as a student/learner
I definitely had some magical moments with magical teachers, but I really struggled in school. It was not easy for me. I was a really timid learner and fairly introverted as a child. I believe I was a very distracted learner and had a hard time keeping attention.
Those experiences that were magical really stuck out to me and an important part of my educational experience. My Consumer Economics teacher in high school had us play the stock market game where we were buying and selling stocks. I also enjoyed my Culinary class which, surprisingly, I came a Culinary teacher and loved the hands on. For me, to be in project-based classes and learn with my hands as an active learner was really important to me.
 
Your journey as a teacher
Going into my junior year of college, I had a hard time knowing what I was going to major in. I started out as a business major, then maybe a dietician even though I wasn’t that good in chemistry. I remember my guidance counselor telling me that I had to decide to figure out what I was going to do with my life. She asked me if I ever thought of Family Consumer Science because that really brings what you love about food, nutrition, and being able to work with children and maybe broaden your horizon and teach things like child development, interior design, culinary, and other areas. My junior year was the first year Home Economics became Family Consumer Science major. It all kind of came together in that year.
Once I found my passion with that major, I loved learning. Then it took me a while, but I became a really good student. It was all about me feeling confident in my own skills and abilities and finding what I was passionate about. For every kid, it comes at different times. My first teaching position was in Child Development and then they offered me to teach a Culinary class in Escondido, California where I taught for five years. When we moved to Oregon, I was able to stay home with my kids for five years when they were little. I ended up in a half-time position in Medford in Interior Design and Culinary. Going half time meant I could be with my children and go to their classes and also do what I love. After five years that transitioned into a full-time position. It’s been an amazing career teaching valuable life skills to kids.
Recipes on my Website:  https://www.tisharichmond.com/recipes.html

 
Technology Integration Specialist
In 2014, I was at a point in my career that I was considering leaving teaching. I was tired,