Meet Todd Carter!

As part of our ongoing series Meet Our GDS Faculty and Staff, we are excited to present: Meet Todd Carter!

Read the Q&A below to learn more about Todd.

• Primary Role: 3rd grade teacher and head coach of the Varsity Baseball team. 
   
• Pronouns: He/Him
   
• Years at GDS: Nearly finished with year 16! 

What do you love about GDS?
I love the School’s commitment to honest and evolving discussions about history and [the importance of] multiple perspectives.

Why do you do your job?
Kids are more fun than adults. Every day something unexpected happens, and even when it's hard, there's always a time to laugh

A favorite part of your job?
I'm proud of the unit we've developed on The Great Migration, and I'm proud to have been part of developing the 2nd grade Identity Project.

Your work style in three words?
Absurdity is important.

Other GDS activities or roles that community members may not know about?
Todd previously coached GDS Lower/Middle School students in recreational basketball (for boys and girls) for ten years.

A top hope/wish for your students and/or colleagues?
We should support happiness, and that will look different for different people. Things are changing rapidly and resilient, cooperative people will be ready.

Personal passions/hobbies/pastimes?
Reading, writing, and making things (especially out of trash).

A few favorites…?
The Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore is my favorite museum

Tell us about your pets. 
I have two cats: Buster (named after Buster Posey) and Fluffy (because the kids named the cat).

Something you made, created, or accomplished that you can proudly share?
I am proud of #100DucksDC, a renegade art display on the streets of Tenleytown where I, and several other GDS staff members, created and displayed illuminated packing tape duck sculptures. Also, in 2019, I organized hundreds of artists across 5 continents to publicly display depictions of Frida Kahlo as part of Night of 1,000 Fridas.

One thing about yourself your students/colleagues/others probably don't know?
I made a giant cement eyeball and put it in my front yard. Toddlers love it, but their parents often look uneasy as they walk by. (Todd’s street art has also earned positive attention and even global collaboration. His #100DucksDC installation got friends and family making packing-tape ducks and subsequently paved the way for The Night of 1,000 Fridas, in which artists around the world made and displayed Frida Kahlo-inspired art publicly all on the same night. His King Kong installation, which was slotted over top of a traffic box on the corner of Reno Road and Fessenden Street, and eyeball art have been neighborhood favorites.)

One thing on your life "bucket list" you've already accomplished?
Wrote a novel. (Stealing the Scream is a great read. Check it out!)

Something on your life “bucket list” you have yet to accomplish?
Go to the corn palace in South Dakota. Watch a sumo match.

With a tip from Todd, we reached out to hear what a colleague had to say...
Azureé Harrison said, “Todd is a creative teacher. His classroom is full of whimsy and innovation. Spend a day with him and you will come to appreciate the many ways he encourages kids to express themselves and to make meaning of their learning, particularly through art. His ability to see artistic opportunity in all things models and claims necessary space for kids who might not always demonstrate their knowledge in 'conventional' ways.”