About Dr. Hartnell

"Laugh and Learn! Dr. Hartnell should charge admission to hear his lectures! He is so original, so funny, and so smart! If Conan O'Brien and 'Meet the Press' had a baby, it'd be Hartnell!"
-- Former student

In the Beginning...

Someone once asked New York Yankees' center fielder Joe DiMaggio why he was always diving for the ball and trying his hardest during every game. His response has become the creed by which Dr. Hartnell teaches:

"There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, and I owe him my best."

Born in Lansing, Michigan on October 1, 1977, Dr. Hartnell lived his first six months in Holt before moving to Westerville, Ohio in 1978.

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Education Background

Dr. Hartnell attended both Robert Frost and Mark Twain Elementary Schools, Walnut Springs Middle School, and Westerville North High School (Class of 1996).

He went to Michigan State University, where he earned a B.A. Degree in History with a Minor in Geography in 2000. He was awarded his Teacher Certification in Secondary Education in 2001, and as part of the program at MSU, Dr. Hartnell taught history for the 2000-2001 school year at Holt High School in Michigan. In 2005, Dr. Hartnell completed his Master in the Art of Teaching (M.A.T.) in the areas of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment through Marygrove College. Dr. Hartnell attended Walden University of Minneapolis from January 2008 until April 2011 and earned his doctorate in Teacher/Educational Leadership. This is commonly referred to as an "Ed.D.", or Educational Doctorate. In short, Dr. Hartnell is a "Doctor of Education".

In the fall of 2012, Dr. Hartnell began coursework at Otterbein University to add a TESOL Endorsement to his license. (TESOL means Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.) With the growing diversity in the district, Dr. Hartnell wished to gain additional knowledge and new skills, which he felt he owed to the incoming students. In July 2014, he finished his studies at Otterbein and passed the state certification test to officially receive his TESOL Endorsement. The following year, Dr. Hartnell embarked on formally turning his endorsement into a Master of Arts in Education (M.A.E.) degree with a focusing strand on TESOL (also through Otterbein). After completing his research study, he wrapped up his Otterbein coursework and graduated in April 2016.

Dr. Hartnell's leadership, approach to education, assessment, and collaboration resulted in Ohio's Board of Education designating him as a "Master Teacher" in 2013 and again in 2018. Additionally, he received the Northwestern University Distinguished Secondary Teacher Award in May 2016 and was recognized for his Presidential campaign by the City of Westerville in September 2016, by his alma mater Michigan State in January 2017, and by his doctoral school Walden University in January 2019. The Westerville Parent Council, Roush Honda, the Deputy Superintendent of Schools, the Treasurer, and the Westerville City Schools Board of Education recognized Dr. Hartnell as a 2016-2017 Great Educator and Mentor (GEM) for the district. In 2017 and 2018, Dr. Hartnell was named Educator of the Year by the Ellis E. Woodrow Memorial VFW Post 7883 in Westerville. In 2016, 2018, and 2019, he was nominated for the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History's National History Teacher of the Year. He was even featured in an article about "Why I Teach?" published by Michigan State University in November 2018.

To read about Dr. Hartnell's dissertations and to review his research studies, click here.

Dr. Hartnell's graduation from Otterbein University in 2016. [Click picture for a larger version.]

Dr. Hartnell poses with comedian Seth Meyers, who was the commencement speaker at Northwestern University in 2016. [Click picture for a larger version.]

Dr. Hartnell's classroom and campaign were on full display in the September 2016 issue of the "Westerville Magazine". [Click picture to read the article.]

In perhaps one of the happiest days of his life, Dr. Hartnell's classroom and campaign were featured by Michigan State in January 2017. [Click picture to read article.]

In November 2018, Michigan State University featured a handful of graduates from its Teacher Education Program. [Click picture to read article.]

Dr. Hartnell was featured in the Winter/Spring 2019 issue of Walden University's Magazine as a "Changemaker", [Click picture to read article on Pages #14-15.]

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Why history?

From an early age, Dr. Hartnell was hooked on dinosaurs and wanted to be a paleontologist. Having red hair, however, made him reconsider this career choice since it's been well-documented that redheads catch fire in the desert. It was during his 5th grade year at Mark Twain when everything changed. The student teacher presenting a lesson in Mrs. Wheeler's class made the observation that the Battle of Bunker Hill was actually fought on Breed's Hill. It blew Dr. Hartnell's mind. The notion that history had recorded something wrong (but still passed it off as fact) coupled with annual family trips to Fort Michilimackinac helped steer Dr. Hartnell down the path of studying history.

Career Information

Dr. Hartnell returned to Westerville in 2001 and taught at both Westerville North and Walnut Springs. He was hired full time at Westerville North the next year. The 2018-19 school year marks Dr. Hartnell's 18th year teaching in Westerville.

Dr. Hartnell received "Teacher of the Year" honors for the 2006-2007 school year, an award bestowed upon a teacher only once in their career. In 2009, he was inducted into the Westerville North High School Alumni Hall of Fame, a moment he likens to having a jersey number retired.

Dr. Hartnell is known for using wild lectures, interactive lesson plans, and numerous costumes and uniforms to bring history to life for each of his students. A visual learner himself, he finds students are excited to come to class and see what kind of craziness he has in store for them on any given day.

Dr. Hartnell loves basketball and coached for four years at Walnut Springs, where his tactics... and antics... earned him the nickname "The Bobby Knight of Middle School Basketball" (for better or worse). During the 2004-2005 season, he became the first coach in school history to lead the 8th grade to victories over all three rivals in Westerville (Heritage, Genoa, and Blendon) in the same season.

Coach Hartnell - "The Bobby Knight of Middle School Basketball"

It's Dr. Hartnell's "Tar & Feather Day"! Gallons of maple syrup go well with feathers!

Personal Information

In December 2001, Dr. Hartnell proposed to his high school sweetheart in epic fashion. The two walked down the aisle in August 2003 in what was a perfect ceremony (because neither of them tripped). Adding to the enchantment of the evening was an appearance by the one-and-only mascot of Michigan State... "Sparty"! In 2010, Dr. Hartnell and his wife celebrated the birth of their son, Fraser McKim. The name "Fraser" comes from Dr. Hartnell's wife's grandmother's maiden name (follow that?) and also happens to be the same name as the Scottish clan to which Dr. Hartnell can trace his ancestry (through his mother's side). The name "McKim" is Dr. Hartnell's mother's maiden name.

Dr. Hartnell enjoys lifting weights (since he used to look like this) and can be found throwing around the iron at the Power Shack in Columbus. While the years have taken their toll... and its unlikely he will top his personal bests on bench (600 lbs.) and straight-bar curls (250 lbs.) anytime soon... he still likes the comradery of training with his (aging) power-lifting peers. (After all, a yearly gym membership is far cheaper than repairing drywall!)

For 14 summers, Dr. Hartnell worked outside doing landscaping. He spent six years with Cross Creek Gardens (now Hoover Gardens) in Westerville before branching out and forming his own company, Old School Landscaping, which he ran from 2002-2011.

When he's not writing new lectures, creating different activities, or tweaking former lessons, Dr. Hartnell has been working on his classroom textbook, Nutty the A.D.D. Squirrel's Scramblin' thru History, which can now be enjoyed on-line by clicking here!

This saying, adopted from his beloved Michigan State Spartans, now serves as Dr. Hartnell's personal and professional motto. [Click the banner to read more.]

Dr. Hartnell's Favorite...

College:

Michigan State

NHL Team:

Detroit Red Wings

Movie:

Braveheart

Color:

Red

Month:

October

Candy:

After Dinner Mints

Music:

Classic rock

Popcorn:

Black Jewel

Pop/Soda:

Mountain Dew

Cookie:

M&M Cookies

Feeling:

Full

Subject:

History

Battle:

Bunker Hill

Truck:

Dodge Ram

Shape:

parallelogram

Bird:

duck

Ice Cream:

Cookie Dough

Dance:

The YMCA

Fraggle:

Gobo

Milkshake:

Rally's banana

Dog/Cat:

Dog

Vacation:

Traverse City, MI

Reindeer:

Blitzen

Starburst:

Original Fruit

MLB Team:

Detroit Tigers

Athlete:

Dale Murphy

Book:

Dandelion Wine

Number:

Holiday:

Christmas

Candy Bar:

Whatchamacallit

Band:

Tom Petty

Fudge:

Black Cherry

Meal:

Breakfast

Cereal:

Cap'n Crunch

Smurf:

Papa (beard, duh!)

History:

Revolutionary War

Tattoo:

All 15 of mine

Sedan:

Honda Accord

Word:

defenestrate

Milk:

Pudding:

Chocolate

Decade:

1980s

Soup:

Chicken Noodle

Malt:

Don's chocolate

Dog Breed:

Chocolate Lab

Fort:

Ft. Michilimackinac

XMas Song:

"Old Toy Trains"

Kids' Book:

...Wild Things Are

NFL Team:

Detroit Lions

Sport:

Basketball

TV Show:

Man Seeking Woman

Cartoon:

The Far Side

Animal:

Alligator

Week Day:

Thursday

'80s Band:

Def Leppard

Cake:

Wedding

Restaurant:

Uno Pizzeria & Grill

Pizza:

Little Caesar's

Arcade:

Donkey Kong

President:

Teddy Roosevelt

Temp:

70 degrees

Sports Car:

Dodge Challenger

Bad Word:

&^*#@%$^!!!

Fruit:

Banana

Jell-O:

Orange

Muppet:

Fozzie Bear

Chips:

Pringles

Fries:

Five Guys

Coke/Pepsi

Coke

Island:

Mackinac Island

Grocery:

Giant Eagle

Cloud:

Cumulonimbus

NBA Team:

Detroit Pistons

Comedian:

Conan O'Brien

Superhero:

Superman

Dinosaur:

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Time'o'Day:

10:00pm

Season:

Fall

Snack:

Popcorn

Pie:

Special Lemon

Fast-Food:

G.D. Ritzy's

Steak:

Porterhouse

Smell:

Fall

General:

G. Washington

Tree:

Douglas Fir

Van:

Farfegnugen

Sound:

waves crashing

Vegetable:

green beans

Yogurt:

Key Lime Pie

Disney:

Goofy

Hamburger

Don's Drive-In

Sub:

JJ's Slim #2

Yin/Yang:

Yang

Bridge:

Mackinac Bridge

Coaster:

Cedar Pt's Magnum

Hero:

Grandpa Jack