Many students know Mr. Martens – he’s a Composition 1, English 2, and AP Literature and Composition teacher. But what some don’t know is that he actually “started working at Osceola on January 20^th of 2005.”

          “When I started teaching I had the opportunity to come here or go to Boca Ciega High or Tyrone Middle. I lived in Safety Harbor at the time so this was a closer drive. Also, I was impressed that I had a full interview panel at my interview; Principal, 2 APs, Department chair, Reading coach, and another teacher. Osceola called me first with the offer, I am forever grateful to Carol Moore, our former principal, for this opportunity,” explains Mr. Martens.

          Evidently, as an English teacher, Mr. Martens has several inspirations.

          “My biggest inspirations in the English field? Man, that’s tough. There are the obvious English teacher answers: Shakespeare, Twain, Poe, Hemingway. I’m a huge fan of Steinbeck and Faulkner, too. But if I’m going to be honest, interest in the English field is so vast, obviously I love the idea of story, but I also love the idea of words, meaning, and the images they convey,” says Mr. Martens.

          Some may be surprised to learn Mr. Martens “wasn’t supposed to ever be an English teacher for more than three years.”

          “My plan after my BS in Education was to teach for a few years then move on to a Master’s and PHD program in English. Obviously that didn’t happen. I fell in love with the work and made changes accordingly. I was an English Major because I’m obsessed with how we tell stories, and as I decided to stay in this profession I have always had a purpose to change the way we teach English, to not only embrace the history of English as a discipline but to modernize it for a 21^st century learner and world. That’s my goal now,” clarifies Mr. Martens.

          Mr. Martens’ classroom incorporates Story-Spider-Web-Posters for AP Lit, a center table brimming with papers packed with poetry, prose, and essays, and a corner with cardboard cutouts of famous celebrities like Josh Hutcherson.

          “I am also fascinated with the idea that vocabulary is what limits your experience of the world. The more you know, the larger your vocabulary, the more you can experience new things in our world, limiting ourselves to small vocabularies means we can only interpret our world in those words. The fact that we make meaning via words, we learn from stories, and we express ourselves in our most simple and difficult ways with words makes me excited so in that respect I’m fascinated with Umberto Eco and Noam Chomsky,” says Mr. Martens.

          Mr. Martens, of course, also has a plethora of favorite books.

          “The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Don Quixote by Cervantes, Fight Club by Chuck Pahlaniuk, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins,” explains Mr. Martens. “The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lord of the Barnyard by Tristan Egolf, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. I guess that’s enough for now.”

It is apparent that Mr. Martens excels in his field. However, when asked what other fields Martens finds captivating, he responded, “I love history; the story of humans is fascinating, especially since we seem to never learn from our mistakes.”