We know Mr. Lawwill as a Social Studies teacher. Some might know him as Coach – as in Boys Golf and Tennis Coach.  But how about youtube star?  Well, maybe “star” might be a bit of a stretch…  Mr. James Lawwill used to sing and compose easy rock music. He has his own YouTube page that has 3 songs on it. Mr. Lawwill explains, “If you google me, you can find me at James Lawwill Music, and you can follow my YouTube page. If you follow me on my YouTube page, you can get extra credit,” he jokes with his students (but is he really joking?).

Originally from Washington State, Lawwill graduated high school in 1973 at Issaquah High School. He went on to the University of Washington to get his master’s degree in teaching. For his first few years of teaching, Mr. Lawwill was a physical education teacher. He really enjoyed it, but one day, he got really tired of baking in the sun, so he moved into the air-conditioning to teach history. The first school that Mr. Lawwill went to teach at was Compton High School in Washington, but in 1996, he moved over to Arizona, and he has been here ever since. He’s been around TUSD a bit, first teaching at Tucson Magnet High School for about six years, then Catalina High School for about another six years also, and now at Sahuaro, where he seems to have found his forever home since he’s been here for OVER six years now.

Lawwill’s favorite hobbies include traveling with his wife, hanging out with her at home, and playing with his animals. He named his  Golden Retriever Mensa, named after the high IQ MENSA group. He says he knew how smart his puppy was going to be, such as barking to protect the household.

He also loves to travel.  Seems that Mr. Lawwill has gone from not wanting to work outdoors in the heat to not caring too much for AC either.  When asked about his travels, he brought up one of his favorite  countries he has visited, Greece. He noticed a lot of things that were different than the United States. He explains, “One thing that was different about Greece was that the air conditioning was really different. In July, the air conditioning was way colder than it is here.” 

Even though Lawwill has given up working outdoors all day long, he still loves to coach. So far the boys golf team has won a lot of their matches, but they are still working on their techniques. Before any golf game, Mr. Lawwill, always tells the team, “Always do your best. We’re not all perfect, but keep trying.” Sounds like some sage advice from a sage man.