Experience Summary
This fall, I begin my twentieth year as a teacher. I'm still teaching because I'm still curious myself about the world around us, and sharing that passion, curiosity, and drive to know is part of my classroom every day. Showing learners the path to success is not just my vocation--it's an avocation.
I've taught at high schools in Texas and Virginia, and have worked with students of all abilities: remediation and review classes, general, academic, honors, advanced placement, and advanced placement for gifted students. The courses I've taught include ESL English language, and reading, science, social studies, and math for ESL; Earth Science; Sat Verbal and SAT Writing; high school English for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades; AP Language and Composition; AP Literature and Composition; Creative Writing; Practical Writing; and, Science Fiction.
In my first decade as a teacher, I specialized in helping students become more confident and proficient writers, and was a member of the New Jersey Writing Project in the 1990s when my district brought it to Texas. I've sponsored UIL writing teams and coached my school's Academic Decathlon team to state level competition in art, economics, literature, science, and writing. Finding the underlying themes and connections in our daily lives can make learning a lifelong source of satisfaction and joy.
In my second decade as a teacher, I've becoming increasingly aware of the importance of environments and relationships, and often reflect on what creates an atmosphere in which success is inevitable and personal. Students are often unaware of the legacies they leave their teachers, but 18 years later I still hold close in my heart and my mind a comment that a student made in my second year of teaching. She wrote that she loved my class because I truly noticed them as individuals. So, the conclusion that I've reached is that people learn best when they feel comfortable and when they are not afraid to try. One of the most important gifts any teacher can give his or her students is to keep an open mind to all students' potential and to reward the honest "try."
Teaching Style
Personalized learning coach
My Hobbies
--Working with animals, especially horses and dogs
--Writing short stories, poems, and screenplays
--Collecting rocks and minerals
--Drawing and watercolors
--Analyzing film and media