Aspiring Author Spotlight- Mr. Ron Farrow (AAS #16)

“Music can change the world because it can change people” was said by Irish singer/song-writer Bono and I could not find a better way to describe Mr. Farrow. Mr. Farrow would be labeled as the hip, cool teacher when I met him at Lincoln Intermediate school when I started subbing. Mr. Farrow was the music teacher and if you want to see creative lesson plans and out-of-the-box performances where kids air drum during their Christmas concert, then whip-out you notebook and be prepared to giggle and have your jaw drop! From using wrestler bots fighting to compare the volume of one half of the room when compared to the other to having a musical scale “jail” game for reviewing test material, this gentleman makes every child fall in love with the fun aspects of music for at least two years. My brother, who did not like school, recalls a few of the songs and their composers Mr. Farrow taught him still! Mr. Farrow always has a smile on his face and sees the blessings in the world, like his role model, Mr. Rogers. And what has he done for me? Mr. Farrow supported my starting out path past my associates degree and gave me confidence, welcoming a young, timid teacher-to-be to be one of his trusted subs. He is willing to try new things and he took me to my first baseball game and the first time I helped chaperone a field trip (and I got to see the AMAZING amount of food he could eat as his lovely wife nagged him! So cute!). A lover of Final Fantasy and Disney, and a technology genius. always dressed to impress with rad spikes, please welcome the legend with a full heart, Mr. Ron Farrow.

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1. When you wake up in the morning, how do you see life? Honestly, I see every day as an adventure. I know that sounds so cliché, but I truly do. I look for the excitement in every moment. I was born a natural optimist and that carries over in everything I do. I’m always looking at how I can enjoy every moment.
2. How did writing find its way into your life? My dad was a writer. He wrote mainly for fun, but did write for the paper for a short time and published a book titled “Written from the Heart”, which was primarily a collection of his articles for the paper. I don’t really think about writing as a talent or hobby, I just like to tell stories and create adventure. Something I do every day anyway.
3. What does writing do for you? I love movies and books that take me to far off places or different times. I think writing gives me the opportunity to create those atmospheres, those moments and “live” through them. I love controlling the story.
4. What sort of genre or type of writing do you do? I’m a kid at heart, so I love to write adventure stories that you would find aimed at the mid-teen age. Although I think any age can appreciate a good story, a fun adventure, and a little mystery.
5. Do events in your life or people you know affect your writing? I think the things I love to imagine have stayed pretty constant, but my son has definitely added to the fun. We love making up stories together and I can always bounce new ideas off of him.
6. What are you currently work on or what was the last thing you wrote? My son and I recently began working on a book about a young man who discovers some ancient treasure in the woods behind his house. The treasure has ties to the power, and disappearance of the Atlantis island and civilization. As he travels the world with his friend’s dad, an archeologist, to discover the truth, he discovers a powerful group designed to protect the secret…or destroy it. It’s been a fun adventure so far.
7. Can you tell us a little about it and its inspiration? See above for a brief description. Really, it was just inspired by us looking for another adventure to go on in our minds. We have so many real world adventures in our own woods behind our house, we thought it would be fun to start our story with the same kind of experience, only with an added special discovery.
8. What are your goals for the future? I would love to continue writing with my son. Sure, I would love to actually publish a book one day, but that requires actually finding and taking the time to really dedicate to writing and completing such a project. One day I would love to see a story written by the two of us read by kids all over the world, experiencing the same kind of immersive, adventure fun we experience every day.
9. What are your interests or hobbies? I love hiking, camping, and anything outdoors. I’m a musician and love creating in that realm as well.
10. If you could be a superhero, what are your powers and how would you use them to help the world? My son and I just had this conversation last week!! We both decided the best superpower is the ultimate intelligence to create. Batman and Iron Man have these abilities. They are brilliant and so they can create whatever they need. That is the ultimate power. Both also are able to use their creations to help the world in health and peace. That to me is a true superhero.
11. What advice would you give people who want to write? Do it! Just give yourself some time every now and then to sit down and just create a story. Start small. Don’t think about writing a book. Just start by creating a cool story with a beginning, middle, and end. You can grow the story and idea from there. Some of the best stories started from the smallest of ideas.
12. If you could be remembered for one thing or thought, what would it be? I’m a nerd, but I’ll admit, I’m a huge Mr. Rogers fan. I think his philosophy on life and how we should live it should be the model we all live by. I think he said it best when he stated he wanted to be remembered for being a compassionate human being who was lucky enough to be able to use all the talents he was given.

Future Work Idea:

 aA young man discovers some ancient treasure in the woods behind his house. The treasure has ties to the power, and disappearance of the Atlantis island and civilization. As he travels the world with his friend’s dad, an archeologist, to discover the truth, he discovers a powerful group designed to protect the secret…or destroy it.

Bio on Mr. Farrow:

I was born and raised in Cape Girardeau, MO.  My family was very musical and we grew up listening, writing and performing music from a very young age.  My dad was extremely creative and always willing to let us experiment, get messy, and have fun.  I’ll never forget when he let us paint the closet with glow in the dark paint all afternoon so we could have a “glow room”.  I’m sure my mother will never forget that as well!!  I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, especially for music.  It was my passion.  I never realized how much education would mean to me and what impact it would have on my life and passions growing up.  I’m very honored to get to lead a building as principal and help mold young minds every day into good character and an adventurous spirit.  I currently live in Farmington, MO with my wife Brandi Farrow and my two children Aiden-5 and Sophie-10 months.  My wife is a 5th grade reading teacher and gracefully tolerates and compliments our adventurous spirits on a daily basis.