John Isaacson | Midland School

John Isaacsonhe/him

English Faculty

B.A. UC Santa Barbara
M.A. Portland State University
Languages: English and Spanish
Appointed: 2015


  jisaacson@midland-school.org
  (805) 688-5114

John heard about an academically rigorous school where students chopped wood from his father, Deming Isaacson ’61. Upon visiting the campus, he was mesmerized by the freedom and independence of students who lived in cabins and built rope swings. As a student at Midland, John developed his love of writing and literature, and served as school prefect his senior year. He graduated from UCSB with a degree in Creative Studies and an emphasis in literature. After earning his teaching credential from Portland State University, he was thrilled to return to Midland as a teacher with his wife Jenny and their twin daughters, Candice and Katherine.

John regularly reads the Santa Barbara Independent, The New Yorker, and all of the local weeklies, including The Sun and The New Times, and his favorite Midland Farm produce is cherry tomatoes because they explode in your mouth like a sunset. He is passionate about Black Lives Matter and ending global warming, and his personal motto is “be true to yourself.” In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar, listening to records, reading poetry and comics, and playing with his kids. He wrote and illustrated a graphic novel called “Do It Yourself Screen-printing” that was published in 2007 and went on a book tour with seven other writers in a bio-diesel fueled bus across the East Coast. He also reviews live music in comic-strip format on his blog feedbackcomics.blogspot.com.