Greetings!  My name is Mark Gallarza, and I am the English teacher for middle school at St. Michael's.  I've been teaching at St. Michael's for eight years; however, I've been a teacher for just over 30 years.  I hold a BA in history from Loyola Marymount University and an MA in history from California State University Los Angeles.  I am a strong believer in teaching students to become life-long readers; therefore, every year I introduce my students to classic literature that has withstood the test of time.  I truly love teaching, but it's important to remember that a teacher's students change with every passing year, as one class shuffles and another one shuffles out; therefore, it's my contention that a teacher must first and foremost love the discipline he teaches. Only when a teacher passionately loves the subject that he teaches, can he impact the lives of his students.  I thank you for entrusting your young person to my mentorship for the short time he or she will be in my class; I promise to do my utmost to help them find their path to life-long learning.