Life Learning

Lifelong learning is a goal of mine that directs everything I do. Whether it is reading outside on a sunny day, strolling the streets of an ancient Spanish town, or searching the internet for a must-have answer, I love to learn. It keeps life exciting, and every day is full of exploring and surprises. To cultivate that love of learning in the minds of students would be an incomparable life achievement. My focus of teaching is not to simply relay content, but to create a culture of learning and exploration that ignites a spark in my students, and helps them discover that learning is fun. It is vital. It is never ending. And most of all, it can be an insatiable goal of successful people. One of the most important concepts to understand while fostering this type of learning environment is that every student is different. I need to recognize these differences, and apply my teaching style to each individual mind. As I work to know my students, I can become more successful in helping them find their own motivation for being a lifelong learner.

I have been interested in teaching since I was a student myself. I remember sitting in my ninth grade math classes, looking at my teacher, Mrs. Meine, and deciding that I wanted to live like she lived. She not only taught us math very effectively, but she taught us to use our minds, and to stretch what we already knew. I really felt her passion for teaching, and as a student, I responded to her enthusiasm for learning. Teaching creates opportunities to change the lives of developing minds, and it would be impossible to pass up that opportunity. While I recognize teaching can be such a challenge, I would want nothing more than to get the chance to pass on my love of learning to my students. I can think of no greater gift I could give back than that. And besides, there is nothing more dynamic than being a part of the exciting, miserable, dramatic, conquering, scary, and insane lives of American teenagers.

In my life, I have had some amazing opportunities to learn and grow. Coming from a family of all girls, I had a very different growing up experience, full of blow dryers, communal closets, and high heels. My dad, though, kept us doing plenty of manly activities, like football, hiking, and watching ESPN. Thanks to both of my parents, I have a healthy appreciation for all aspects of life, like reading, music, the outdoors, and art. Some of the things I am most passionate about are dancing, my family and friends, reading, history, and good movies. I am married to my best friend of 12 years, Josh, and we love calling Boise our home. The highlight of my education was a semester spent in Madrid, Spain, learning Spanish and traveling all over that amazing country. A tie for first would be finishing my undergrad degree last year, and now am pursuing my dream of teaching. Overall, I am so excited to become a teacher, and can’t wait to tackle this technology class of educational applications.