Emma Hardison: Is it important to you that students think you’re cool?
Mike Oz: I'm gonna say no, but I think it's hard to say that with complete confidence because we all want to be liked. But no. It is important that people respect me, and not in a blind respect your elders kind of way, but I do want to be respected and I want that to be reciprocated. I want to respect you guys, and even when you guys are doing some things that are not cool, I kind of still respect the person that’s doing that. And I think, honestly, that should go both ways.
EH: So you consider yourself to be understanding and respectful of OSA students?
MO: Yeah, I love this place. I don’t mean that in a corny way. We have an alternative way of schooling people. As a kid I could've used that. Desperately.
EH: What are your views on unconventional schooling/education?
MO: We’ll start on my views on conventional schooling: It doesn’t work for everyone. And it works for some people, but it’s a very narrow margin. Unfortunately, the majority of schools tend to start from a conventional standpoint, most people don’t fit in—I did not fit in at all. And most of this school doesn’t either. I tell people all the time, we’ve got the craziest people in this town all put up in one building. And I mean that in the nicest way. It takes an unconventional approach to educate people. I love the fact that we’re unconventionally able to still provide a traditional education, in the sense that you guys will be prepared for universities, but we do it in such a way that embraces creativity, as opposed to making people hold that part of them in.
EH: What changes to the school system would you make if you had all the power?
MO: Money is the constraint, right? So I don’t think it has to do with power.
EH: Well, money is power, arguably.
MO: Arguably, yeah. So if I had all the money, because I think my position at the school allows me to make the changes,I would obviously reduce class sizes. I think real life experience is equally as valuable, if not more valuable than anything you can find in any book. If we could supplement traditional education with more real life experience, getting out to various places, it’s endless what you can do. Money is the constraint and class sizes are decided by it, I mean I don’t know, I could answer that question for four days straight and still have more answers for you.
EH: Oakland Tech and other schools in the bay have started having later starts. Do you think that OSA’s schedule is the best way to do things here? Or are there changes you want to make?
MO: People argue that 8:15 is too early and I think there may be truth to that, it’s hard for me to know because I’m a morning person so I don’t know that first hand. But I don’t want you guys to be here after 4:15. The school used to have high schoolers here until 5:30. When it starts getting dark early and people are taking the bus all the way across town, it’s just not safe. Do I think 8:15 is ideal? Probably not--but I do think we need this much time in the day, so I think it’s the best option.
Little Mr.Oz with his Grand Father!
EH: If you had to go to OSA, what emphasis would you be in?
MO: If I was in middle school, it would probably be instrumental music. My sixth grade self would want to play guitar, obviously. And then I’d be disappointed that I couldn’t play Metallica all day long. For high school, maybe digital media, maybe audio production and engineering, our new emphasis.
EH: Tell me about your phases!
Mike Oz: I'm gonna say no, but I think it's hard to say that with complete confidence because we all want to be liked. But no. It is important that people respect me, and not in a blind respect your elders kind of way, but I do want to be respected and I want that to be reciprocated. I want to respect you guys, and even when you guys are doing some things that are not cool, I kind of still respect the person that’s doing that. And I think, honestly, that should go both ways.
EH: So you consider yourself to be understanding and respectful of OSA students?
MO: Yeah, I love this place. I don’t mean that in a corny way. We have an alternative way of schooling people. As a kid I could've used that. Desperately.
EH: What are your views on unconventional schooling/education?
MO: We’ll start on my views on conventional schooling: It doesn’t work for everyone. And it works for some people, but it’s a very narrow margin. Unfortunately, the majority of schools tend to start from a conventional standpoint, most people don’t fit in—I did not fit in at all. And most of this school doesn’t either. I tell people all the time, we’ve got the craziest people in this town all put up in one building. And I mean that in the nicest way. It takes an unconventional approach to educate people. I love the fact that we’re unconventionally able to still provide a traditional education, in the sense that you guys will be prepared for universities, but we do it in such a way that embraces creativity, as opposed to making people hold that part of them in.
EH: What changes to the school system would you make if you had all the power?
MO: Money is the constraint, right? So I don’t think it has to do with power.
EH: Well, money is power, arguably.
MO: Arguably, yeah. So if I had all the money, because I think my position at the school allows me to make the changes,I would obviously reduce class sizes. I think real life experience is equally as valuable, if not more valuable than anything you can find in any book. If we could supplement traditional education with more real life experience, getting out to various places, it’s endless what you can do. Money is the constraint and class sizes are decided by it, I mean I don’t know, I could answer that question for four days straight and still have more answers for you.
EH: Oakland Tech and other schools in the bay have started having later starts. Do you think that OSA’s schedule is the best way to do things here? Or are there changes you want to make?
MO: People argue that 8:15 is too early and I think there may be truth to that, it’s hard for me to know because I’m a morning person so I don’t know that first hand. But I don’t want you guys to be here after 4:15. The school used to have high schoolers here until 5:30. When it starts getting dark early and people are taking the bus all the way across town, it’s just not safe. Do I think 8:15 is ideal? Probably not--but I do think we need this much time in the day, so I think it’s the best option.
Little Mr.Oz with his Grand Father!
EH: If you had to go to OSA, what emphasis would you be in?
MO: If I was in middle school, it would probably be instrumental music. My sixth grade self would want to play guitar, obviously. And then I’d be disappointed that I couldn’t play Metallica all day long. For high school, maybe digital media, maybe audio production and engineering, our new emphasis.
EH: Tell me about your phases!
MO: As a young kid I was a very curious, arguably hyperactive kind of person. I loved doing things, I was never someone who would just sit in front of a t.v just to waste the day away,
And then in fourth grade I moved to Nevada City which is kind of in the middle of nowhere. I lived on a gravel road, I got a little dirt bike. I was a nine year old with a motor cycle. I grew a little rat tail.
I was obsessed with Bart Simpson, the idea of being the underachiever, all that. I just loved him. My fourth grade teacher had a conversation with my mom and was worried that I was trying to like, become Bart Simpson. My mom was not concerned, she was too smart to be concerned. But then fifth grade I got heavily into skateboarding, my music taste changed from when I was younger, when I was really into rap--Digital Underground, Ghetto Boys. Fifth grade I went more to punk rock kinda stuff. Operation Ivy was a band that totally changed my direction of musical taste.
Ninth and tenth grade it still continued and I’d go to Gilman and was into going to see bands play live music.
EH: You were a Gilman kid?? Do you especially identify with the Gilman kids who go to OSA nowadays?
MO: A little bit, but they change so much. I get it, I one-hundred-percent get it, but at the same time I can look at it and see where people are gonna change. Because that’s a temporary stage, it’s an intellectual thing that leads people to punk rock and socially conscious movements in general and you hope that after sixteen or seventeen that you break away from the mold. Gilman and all those other scenes are, to me, the mold. You go where you identify, and you hope that people find their own direction and take that out to the bigger world. When you’re fifteen, sixteen, you’re very limited. I was, and so are a lot of the kids. And I’m not criticising them, because I completely get it. But I hope to see them break out of that.
EH: So after your Gilman phase, where’d you go?
MO: I was just into skateboarding and I’d still go see bands play but I’d go out to bigger venues in the city and stuff. I don’t know, my friends had cars and we were just into having fun. I was not academically motivated as a freshman or a sophomore--I did very poorly. And then I had a switch halfway through my sophomore year and I got really high grades the rest of the time because I knew I wanted to go to college. I think it was probably because my sister went to college, she went to UC Santa Cruz and as a fifteen year old, I’d go down to visit her and was like “so you get good grades and you get to go do that?” So I got really focused junior and senior year.
The sweetest man on Earth, tenderly holding his beloved daughter.
And then in fourth grade I moved to Nevada City which is kind of in the middle of nowhere. I lived on a gravel road, I got a little dirt bike. I was a nine year old with a motor cycle. I grew a little rat tail.
I was obsessed with Bart Simpson, the idea of being the underachiever, all that. I just loved him. My fourth grade teacher had a conversation with my mom and was worried that I was trying to like, become Bart Simpson. My mom was not concerned, she was too smart to be concerned. But then fifth grade I got heavily into skateboarding, my music taste changed from when I was younger, when I was really into rap--Digital Underground, Ghetto Boys. Fifth grade I went more to punk rock kinda stuff. Operation Ivy was a band that totally changed my direction of musical taste.
Ninth and tenth grade it still continued and I’d go to Gilman and was into going to see bands play live music.
EH: You were a Gilman kid?? Do you especially identify with the Gilman kids who go to OSA nowadays?
MO: A little bit, but they change so much. I get it, I one-hundred-percent get it, but at the same time I can look at it and see where people are gonna change. Because that’s a temporary stage, it’s an intellectual thing that leads people to punk rock and socially conscious movements in general and you hope that after sixteen or seventeen that you break away from the mold. Gilman and all those other scenes are, to me, the mold. You go where you identify, and you hope that people find their own direction and take that out to the bigger world. When you’re fifteen, sixteen, you’re very limited. I was, and so are a lot of the kids. And I’m not criticising them, because I completely get it. But I hope to see them break out of that.
EH: So after your Gilman phase, where’d you go?
MO: I was just into skateboarding and I’d still go see bands play but I’d go out to bigger venues in the city and stuff. I don’t know, my friends had cars and we were just into having fun. I was not academically motivated as a freshman or a sophomore--I did very poorly. And then I had a switch halfway through my sophomore year and I got really high grades the rest of the time because I knew I wanted to go to college. I think it was probably because my sister went to college, she went to UC Santa Cruz and as a fifteen year old, I’d go down to visit her and was like “so you get good grades and you get to go do that?” So I got really focused junior and senior year.
The sweetest man on Earth, tenderly holding his beloved daughter.
EH: Where did you end up going to college?
MO: Fresh out of highschool, I went to UC Santa Barbara. I was surprised I got in. I wanted to go to Santa Cruz, and I got in, but UCSB was a better school, so I went to the better school. Which is good, because I had just met someone three months earlier, her name was Anna, and she was going to Santa Barbara City College and I very much liked Anna. We ended up living together and 18 years later we're married and have a kid. So it’s good I got into Santa Barbara because if I didn’t, I might not have- I don’t want to get corny, but- met the love of my life. We're together to this day. And then we transferred to Santa Cruz and I loved it. Just like my high school experience, my first two years in college were very bumpy and my third and fourth years were great.
EH: What led you to choose teaching as a career?
MO: Teaching, for me, I never saw as just “what subject do I want to teach?” I like people. I have four younger siblings and was in charge of them from a very young age. I said “What job do I want to do?” and I thought, “I want to be around people. Who are the most fun people to be around? Kids!” It’s true, I thought I was going to be an elementary school teacher. So I did my student teaching for elementary school and I realized I needed a little bit of a step up intellectually.
So I taught eighth grade special ed in Santa Cruz and I loved it. But then I needed to get a special ed credential, but I was not going to go back to school, I was done with that. So I went back to Oakland and found a job at this crazy little place, ten years ago. This is my eleventh year.
EH: What is your definition of success?
MO: Happiness while being able to take care of yourself and the people around you. Satisfaction, fulfillment, self-actualization. And being in the financial position where you at least don’t have to struggle.
EH: Do you take that into account when you advise students, rather than the classic “just find a way to make as much money as you can” approach?
MO: I think actually the opposite happens at schools quite a bit--people say to follow your passion. And we do need to follow our passions but at the same time you need to be realistic. Your passion doesn’t always need to be what pays the bills. Skateboarding for instance, a lot of my friends who got paid through skateboarding grew to not enjoy it because it was their job. I am so much happier, I love my job and I also love these separate things that are my passions. People say follow your passion and make that your living, I don’t think that’s always the best advice. You should not be counting the minutes of any of your days, they should go by so fast. I come to work everyday and the time whizzes by. To me, I feel successful because of that. My day slips by.
EH: That’s nice to know, I see you getting a little over worked sometimes and I wonder if you're okay.
MO: I love being overworked. I do not ever want to work somewhere that I’m not overworked.
Eh: That’s an important trait to have when you work at OSA. Is there anything else you’d like to conclude with?
MO: I don’t want to be preachy or anything, but I want to bring back a stronger sense of community to the school. It is completely acceptable to be apathetic as a teenager but we have something really special here. This is too good to not make the most out of.
MO: Fresh out of highschool, I went to UC Santa Barbara. I was surprised I got in. I wanted to go to Santa Cruz, and I got in, but UCSB was a better school, so I went to the better school. Which is good, because I had just met someone three months earlier, her name was Anna, and she was going to Santa Barbara City College and I very much liked Anna. We ended up living together and 18 years later we're married and have a kid. So it’s good I got into Santa Barbara because if I didn’t, I might not have- I don’t want to get corny, but- met the love of my life. We're together to this day. And then we transferred to Santa Cruz and I loved it. Just like my high school experience, my first two years in college were very bumpy and my third and fourth years were great.
EH: What led you to choose teaching as a career?
MO: Teaching, for me, I never saw as just “what subject do I want to teach?” I like people. I have four younger siblings and was in charge of them from a very young age. I said “What job do I want to do?” and I thought, “I want to be around people. Who are the most fun people to be around? Kids!” It’s true, I thought I was going to be an elementary school teacher. So I did my student teaching for elementary school and I realized I needed a little bit of a step up intellectually.
So I taught eighth grade special ed in Santa Cruz and I loved it. But then I needed to get a special ed credential, but I was not going to go back to school, I was done with that. So I went back to Oakland and found a job at this crazy little place, ten years ago. This is my eleventh year.
EH: What is your definition of success?
MO: Happiness while being able to take care of yourself and the people around you. Satisfaction, fulfillment, self-actualization. And being in the financial position where you at least don’t have to struggle.
EH: Do you take that into account when you advise students, rather than the classic “just find a way to make as much money as you can” approach?
MO: I think actually the opposite happens at schools quite a bit--people say to follow your passion. And we do need to follow our passions but at the same time you need to be realistic. Your passion doesn’t always need to be what pays the bills. Skateboarding for instance, a lot of my friends who got paid through skateboarding grew to not enjoy it because it was their job. I am so much happier, I love my job and I also love these separate things that are my passions. People say follow your passion and make that your living, I don’t think that’s always the best advice. You should not be counting the minutes of any of your days, they should go by so fast. I come to work everyday and the time whizzes by. To me, I feel successful because of that. My day slips by.
EH: That’s nice to know, I see you getting a little over worked sometimes and I wonder if you're okay.
MO: I love being overworked. I do not ever want to work somewhere that I’m not overworked.
Eh: That’s an important trait to have when you work at OSA. Is there anything else you’d like to conclude with?
MO: I don’t want to be preachy or anything, but I want to bring back a stronger sense of community to the school. It is completely acceptable to be apathetic as a teenager but we have something really special here. This is too good to not make the most out of.