Contributor Connect

S. Alexander Cooke is an academic Clark Kent of sorts. By day, he is an English teacher with 12 years of experience at an Ohio high school, by night, a devoted law student. This teacher and student wears even more hats outside of the classroom – he is also a tech savvy self-taught musician, a sports enthusiast, and a devoted father.

He tops it all off with a freelance writing career in which he connects all of these interests within his body of work. As a Politics, Lifestyle, Sports, and Tech Featured Contributor, S. Alexander has published on a variety of Yahoo! sites. He manages to relate tech to education and education to parenting, and circles back around, relating tech to parenting. Sound confusing? Well, this veteran English teacher makes it seem effortless. His clean, well-researched text and thoroughly supported points drive the main message home in each and every article.

While it’s clear that this recent Rising Star works hard, he can play hard, too. S. Alexander can point out the hot spots in his native Columbus, like the best place to play darts and where to find the best sledding hills. He can sniff out highlights (and lowlights) from the big game, or tell you where you can go to play it yourself.

S. Alexander tells Yahoo! Contributor Network how he does it all, and oh-so-much more:

1. How did you discover Yahoo! Contributor Network, and what made you decide to join?

I discovered Yahoo! Contributor Network while searching for online freelance opportunities. I joined initially in order to submit a personal narrative piece about my experiences with students on 9/11. I enjoyed writing the piece so much that I decided to claim some assignments. Yahoo! Contributor network has since developed into an increasingly meaningful part of my work.

2. What are the major challenges of balancing your roles as high school English teacher and law student? Have your school law courses aided you in the classroom at all? Have these courses given you a different perspective on the education system?

Balancing my roles as a high school English teacher and law student requires self-discipline and lots of energy. Sometimes I don’t sleep as much as I should, but I try to stay balanced by exercising regularly and scheduling downtime. I genuinely love both my job and my studies, which makes the heavy workload less cumbersome. Writing helps me relax and clear my mind, which is one reason writing for YCN has helped me be a better teacher and a better student.

My courses in school law have not been particularly helpful to my preparation and delivery of lessons, but, from an administrative perspective, they’re invaluable. Schools thrive on a steady diet of organization, diversity, democratic decision-making, and community involvement. School law attorneys help schools leaders organize for efficiency, leverage diversity to create value, facilitate group decisions, and safely interweave instruction and community involvement. So, even if my school law courses haven’t made me a better teacher, they’ve made me a better educator. 

3. You have worked with all types of students including gifted, at-risk, and special education students. How are these teaching experiences different? How are they uniquely rewarding?

These groups of learners are more similar than they are different. Just about every student likes to experience success after a challenge, master new skills, and build positive relationships with others. That said, each group presents its own challenges. Gifted students require lots of energy—both intellectual and emotional. At-risk students require patience and flexibility. And special education students require an interest in seeing the world from a unique perspective. Each group is also uniquely rewarding. Gifted students often challenge and change my own thinking, even on important political, social, or literary issues. At-risk students often make the most demonstrable gains, both intellectual and emotional. And special education students’ individual differences have taught me how shallow life would be without diversity. 

4. You’re a Featured Contributor in Technology and you’ve written a moving piece about your experience using technology in the classroom. Do you think that the use of technology in the classroom is on an upswing? Is it something that educators should be using more often or more effectively?

I think schools recognize that having a “computer lab” will no longer suffice for technology education. Technology in this decade will make the “personal computer” seem as distant and impersonal as Pluto. But schools are struggling to figure out how to individualize instructional technology in the same way they are individualizing instruction. No one expects a sharp increase in school funding, so the solution needs to be cost neutral. I think we need to use technology less and teach technology more. By that I mean that we need to invite students to use technology, but we should teach the skills that help students adapt readily to new technologies. I wish I were smart enough to figure out how to do that!

5. What’s your approach to writing Sports and News content? What perspective do you approach these topics from?

I try to approach Sports and News content from a personal perspective. My most successful articles present personal analysis or commentary. Personal vignettes seem to rouse reader interest and invite comments. I want my voice to be authentic, so I try to write on topics I connect with. I try hard to write stories I would want to read.

6. Which of your Yahoo! Contributor Network articles was most fun to write? Which are you most proud of?

The YCN article I had the most fun writing was “From a dad’s perspective: My teen’s a gamer and a girl,” a piece that appeared on Yahoo! Shine. It’s probably the most personal piece I’ve written for YCN!

The YCN article I’m most proud of is “Iowa Caucus Winner – Third Party Politics?” At the time, I thought that third party politics was not receiving enough media attention in the wake of clear fractures within the Republican party. The article has been my most successful (in terms of page views) so far.

7. You got off to a strong start on Yahoo! Contributor Network, and you even won a Rising Star award several months in. What advice would you share with other new contributors about finding the path to success on this platform?

I have three pieces of advice for new contributors. First, seek out advice from other Yahoo! Contributors whose work catches your eye. Patrick Michael and Hartley Engel both took time to provide me with some hints during my first few weeks. Their advice helped me make headway quickly. Second, as hard as it is to accept at first, quality matters way more than quantity. Focus on delivering value to your reader with each article. Finally, if you’re looking to maximize page views, consider paying close attention to the news cycle in your niche. It’s much easier to ride the wave than try to create your own.

We'd like to thank S. Alexander Cooke for his participation. To learn more about S. Alexander, check out his contributor profile. Have an idea about who we should feature on our next Contributor Spotlight? Send a tip to contributor-community@yahoo-inc.com.