When Paul was in the third grade, he was inspired by President John F. Kennedy and his third grade teacher to serve this great nation as a teacher. At his school, Earl Bell Elementary in Pecos, Texas, facilities were limited but he was always asking his teacher questions about the environment during recess. His elementary teacher exclaimed, "You ask questions like a Science Teacher"! Little did Paul knew then that this statement made by his teacher was actually a Prophetic Statement. At Kermit High School, his Biology Teacher, Bill Jolley fired him up everday in class. It was fun and entertaining in his class. Those of you who wonder who put in his mind to come out of the ordinary and teach the way he does, can blame his Biology Teacher. His years at KHS taught him more about educational strategies than any education theory class that he took in college. In college, his Under-Graduate Advisor Ed Kurtz was one of the most popular and effective Professors at UTPB. There at UTPB, he was inspired daily to become a Professor. This is why Professor Paul sounds so Natural. Paul received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Life Science from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin www.utpb.edu in 1976.
Teaching became a reality in 1978 when he started his Science Teaching Career at Pecos High School www.pbtisd.esc18.net Since then, Paul has been a Science Educator. Paul learned early on that if he was going to be a successful Science Teacher, he was going to have to stand outside the box and use other actvities which would inspire students to internalize their learning and take ownwership of it. A graduate of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, his experience includes teaching at both the high school and middle school levels. He taught 15 years at Odessa Permian known internationally as MOJO. There he taught some of the athletes featured in the book turned movie called "Friday Night Lights". Along with four other Science Teachers, Paul helped with the development of the Permian High School Botanical Garden. His Herbology-Natural Healing Science Gifts that he inherited from his Paternal Great Great Grandparents, were put into practice when the layout of the garden was made. He contributed heavily to the development of the Chihuahuan Desert area representative of Big Bend National Park flora. Since its inception in 1988, the Permian High School Botanical Garden has won several state and national awards. http://www.ector-county.k12.tx.us/schools/PER/garden.html It was there under the leadership of Permian's High School Principal, that he stepped out of the box and started to write original Pop Music for his Science Classes.
His Paternal family is original Tejano with its family roots going back to the late 1700's. His Paternal family may also go back to the Californios of the late 18th Century www.brioneshouse.org and www.loscalifornianos.org His Paternal Great Ancestors came to the Big Bend National Park area from San Luis Potosi, Nueva Espana in the late 1700's according to information given to him by his late Uncle. His Paternal Grandfather, Pablo Briones was born at Sierra Mojada Big Bend, in 1859 now known as Pine Falls Canyon. He had a gift for using Native Big Bend Plants as Medicinal Herbs. His Father, Cosme Briones was born along the US side of the Rio Grande in Redford, Texas. His Mother, Josefa Carrasco Olivas Briones was born along the Mexican side of the Rio Grande at Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexico. His Paternal Extended Family farmed the flood plains of Terlingua Creek, known as Abaja Terlingua long before the first Mexican families were brought in the early 1900's. His Paternal Extended Family were Chisos Apache and Taruhmara Indian from Big Bend National Park and from the Northern State of Chihuahua close to Camargo, Chihuahua. One of his Extended Relatives, Cipriano Hernandez, was the first Hispanic who built the first permanent structure in Castolon http://www.nps.gov/bibe/historyculture/castolon_history.htm in 1901, now part of Big Bend National Park. His other extended relative, Agapito Carrasco, founded the settlement of "El Ojito" downstream from Castolon immediatlely following. Agapito is also the great uncle of Dr. Arnulfo T. Carrasco, www.carrascopaininstitute.com who now runs a state of the art Rehabilitation Institute in San Antonio, Texas. Paul was devestated that he never knew his Paternal Grandfather since his Grandfather Pablo Briones passed in July of 1937 in Redford, Texas long before Paul was born.
His family background has always influenced his educational and musical endeavors. In 1989, he decided to do his Masters Thesis on the Rio Grande. Growing up in the Pecos-Presidio-Kermit-Redford-Terlingua Regions of West Texas, visiting Terlingua Ranch often, www.terlinguaranch.com and seeing that many of his extended family members on both sides of his family had been farming for over 40 years were being diagnosed with different types of Gastro-Intestinal Disorders, Paul decided to attack the problem scientifically. He made a hypothetical guess that the waters of the Rio Grande might be carrying Cr and Pb. It was during this time, he initiated his 5 year study On "Survey of Heavy Metal (Chromium and Lead) In Water, Mud, and Fish Deposits in the Rio Grande from El Paso to Brownsville". See www.utpb.edu and go to the University Library Link.
In 1992, Professor Paul was inspired by his Science Education Graduate Advisor, John E. Hurn Ph. D. to write original Pop Music for his Science Classes. This past academic year, he was with Granbury ISD. www.granburyisd.org At Granbury High School, his teaching assignments were IPC and Science TAKS Prep. He taught two years at Crockett Middle School teaching 7th Grade Pre-AP Science and 8th Grade Science under the supportive leadership of Principal Victor Tarin. He also taught all the sciences at Pecos High School from 2001 to 2005 under the supportive leadership of Principal Danny Rodriguez. http://pbtisd.esc18.net Paul was recruited in 2001 by Mr. Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez promoted Paul to the position of Science Department Chair where he used as an instructional resource, a National known Technology Program called WebAssign. See www.webassign.net There along with Chemistry Teacher and collegue Francisco Ornelas, they used WebAssign to a level that accomplished a lot of success with the 2004 Exit Science Results. As an individual teacher, he had a lot of success with the combination of his Science Music Program and WebAssign. He connects every TEK Objective with a Local or Real World Scenario allowing students to explore their world around them. Paul uses Multiple Intelligence Models, Kinesthic, Visual and Auditory Activities to engage students at the Analysis-Synthesis Levels. In December of 2006, Paul was invited to be part of an advisory group meeting at Texas A & M. The group is known as PRISE. PRISE is Policy Research Initiatives in Science Education at Texas A & M funded by the National Science Foundation. PRISE will impact Science Teaching at both the State and National levels.
Paul has presented at several middle schools and conventions since 1993. Some of those middle schools and conventions are Crockett Middle School in Pecos, Tx., Walker Middle School in Monahans, Tx., Clark Middle School in Laredo, Tx, Martin Middle School in Corpus Christi, TX, the National Association of Biology Teacher's Convention in Phoenix, AZ in 1995, 2005 CAST Convention in Houston, TX and 2007 CAST Convention in Austin, TX.
Paul continuously monitors Science Education Research at Texas A & M http://prise.tamu.edu the University of Iowa www.education.uiowa.edu/scied/service/NSTA.html and his beloved the University of Texas of the Permian Basin www.utpb.edu In his mind, there are always echoes of his former Friday Night Lights' Administrators, to always trust his instincts. His overall objective is to put student's learning first. His other objective is to listen to his students and the new research developments happening in Science Education on a daily basis. For this reason, this next academic year, he will develop his full attention to setting up and developing this important music program. He has joined the Carrasco Media Group www.doctor2patients.com www.carrascopaininstitute.com In a few weeks, Paul will have his own educational entertainment show and website entitled "Professor Paul". He will have his show on You Tube, Texas Cities' TV Stations, and long distance WebCast. He will also present at NASTA Conventions and have a booth available at the upcoming CAST Convention in Fort Worth. If time allowing, he will also broadcast from many high schools, junior colleges, and universities in 2008-2009. His approach will always be student centered. This mind-set has allowed him to touch student's lives in powerful ways that to this day some of his ex-students still remain in touch with him.
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