Middle School History Teacher
Know Your Pelicans
What do you teach? What is one of your favorite parts of the curriculum?
I teach 7th and 8th Grade American History. My favorite time period to explore with my students is Reconstruction, the 12-year period following the Civil War in which the United States attempted to figure out how to recover, or not, from a brutal war and a long history of slavery. Questions about freedom, democracy, civil rights, and social equality were at the forefront of national politics then and are equally important now. I really enjoy hearing students wrestle with these questions each year.
Tell us about a specific time you found your job especially rewarding.
It is always rewarding when my students speak knowledgeably and passionately! Students in my 7th Grade classes debated the purpose of government during their mock Continental Congress. And, in my 8th Grade classes, students shared their research and ideas for combating global warming with one another and members of the Packer community. I learned about the mechanics of divestment from fossil fuel companies, new carbon-capture and -storage machines, and the cost of biodegradable sporks!
What is something that most Packer people wouldn't know about you?
I have lived, studied, or taught in six different countries on four different continents!
If you were to have an inspirational fridge magnet (and we're not saying you would), what would it say and why?
"You WHALE succeed!" I actually have this magnet in my classroom. I absolutely love whales of all varieties. What better inspiration is there than a 33-ton, air-breathing mammal who can independently propel her body out of water and sing to other whales miles away?