Spanish Faculty

Aaron Birk
Spanish & Movement Teacher

CCP_8140_web

Aaron has over 15 years of teaching experience and brings with him an energy, philosophy of education, and a set of values that dances in step with Odyssey School in an inspiring way.  In addition to being a teacher, Aaron is an Asheville-based graphic novelist, puppeteer, clothing designer, mushroom farmer, and restoration ecologist. He brings twenty years of professional experience to his art making practice, including a jaunt with The San Francisco Mime Troupe, NPR’s Radiolab (“An Ice Cold Case”) and Fungi Magazine.  He is also is the author, illustrator and publisher of The Pollinator’s Corridor, a graphic novel about guerrilla gardening and urban beekeeping in the post-industrial Bronx. Aaron received his Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College and continued his studies at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and The Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial.
In our elementary classrooms, Aaron teaches Spanish language through movement and expression.  In the upper grades, Spanish is explored through geography and culture as students deepen their experience with Spanish through exposure and content-driven inquiry.  Aaron’s classroom immerses students in language, ecology, mythology, and the spirit of Spanish speaking regions through ceramics, visual art, narrative craft, sport, music, literature, and social studies.