Travis R. Martin, CPA

Nearly everything I was seeing in the Minor League Ballparks – the wacky promotions, the entertaining mascots, and the carnival-like atmospheres – could easily be applied to high school athletics. Here’s how.

What is big and bulky, useless after six months, and costs about $150? Your average college textbook, of course (although the Ford Festiva I drove in college also fits that description). Thanks to e-commerce titan Amazon.com, the textbooks of tomorrow may continue to cost an arm and a leg, but they won’t otherwise physically impair [...]

Here’s another entry from my personal journal of the 2008-2009 school year. Look for other tales from the classroom under the tag “Rotten Apples.” Please note that all student and school names have been changed in the interest of privacy.
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September 11, 2008
When Carpets Become Spittoons
It was a lovely end to the day today.  About 15 [...]

My name is Travis Martin.  I am 29 years old, and I am an idiot.  I wasn’t always an idiot, though.  In the old days when I went to work, people would listen to me.  They respected me, my credentials, and my opinions.  I was a CPA at a large public accounting firm.  The initials [...]

Some of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind occurred by accident. Coke, for instance, was invented when Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton mixed together a handful of random ingredients while trying to invent a cure for headaches. Penicillin was stumbled upon when an absent-minded scientist forgot to clean his laboratory prior to going on [...]

As a teacher who works in a high school with a graduation rate that ranges from bad to atrocious depending on the year, I have become a sucker for a good “lost youth overcomes the odds” story.  This past weekend, the online edition of the Chicago Tribune delivered such a tale with an article about [...]

It’s a script fit for Hollywood, or at least a Lifetime Network movie of the week. A talented principal comes into a struggling inner-city school and transforms it into one of the best schools in the state.
The star of this “underdog overcomes the odds” story is Janet Ham, Principal of Maplewood Elementary School in Indianapolis. [...]

If you see me in the near future, and I appear to be stressed, please excuse me. I just received word from the President that I am one of the most important people in America. In fact, our President says the future of the entire country rests, at least in part, in my hands.
I know, [...]

I fight on the front lines in a losing battle. My enemy is small in stature, no bigger than a deck of cards. It has the ability to stealthy move between pockets, purses, and palms. It invades my territory on a regular basis with an impenetrable wall of distraction.
I fight it everyday. Sometimes I win, [...]