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ABOUT ME
Why I Want To Teach
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My Education Philosophy:
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I believe all instruction should be continually evaluated to ensure it is addressing and imparting these three key life goals in equal measure:
1.Critical thinking skills, needed to reason and problem solve throughout life,
2.Work force and job skills needs of the present and forecasts for the future,
3.Quality of life skills, such as civics knowledge required to be an informed, involved, self-advocating citizen; the math, reading and information literacy skills needed to function independently and succeed in the modern world regardless of career path.
I believe as instructors we need to continually ask ourselves these questions:
- What are the socio-economic, culture and ethnicities of our population? What adjustments need to be made to serve their needs and reflect their reality? Are we customizing instruction to the different ways people learn?
- What ideas and methods are we still practicing, not because they work best, but because that’s the way we’ve always done things? What needs to be changed and how do we do that?
- Are we using assessments that are authentically measuring and demonstrating mastery of key skills?
- Is the balance correct between what we’re emphasizing (our stated priorities), what we’re investing in, and the time we’re allotting to learn (our demonstrated priorities)?
- What can we do to make our instruction as useful and as interesting as possible for students?
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Two things influenced my decision to pursue teaching as a career. First I realized what I enjoyed most during my many years in marketing was the fun and excitement of sharing something new with a client or colleague, teaching someone how to use a new tool or method, and seeing the delight of discovery in that person’s face. Second I thoroughly enjoyed my time working in my children’s elementary school library as a PTO volunteer and realized the library is where I belong.
I believe education in the U.S. is at a critical juncture and a strong school library and technology program offers so many resources to tackle our education obstacles. Teacher/Librarians have a unique vantage point in education: in a sense we are department heads of the “information and inquiry” department. We see all the students in a school and preside over materials that cover every possible subject area. Teacher/Librarians' specialties include enhancing reading instruction and championing literacy; teaching research skills and information literacy; teaching and reinforcing critical thinking skills; modeling and teaching technology proficiency. For these reasons and more, I want to be in the library, where the action is.
Skills That Will Make Me An Effective Teacher
- I am gregarious and demonstrative; I believe the most successful teachers are performers at heart.
- I have an easy rapport with children of all ages and enjoy learning from them.
- I am a voracious reader, continuous questioner, and insatiably curious seeker of knowledge. I want my students to see me not as someone who finds all the answers but as their trusted guide in the journey of questioning.
- My true passion is converting the reluctant reader. I believe kids who say they don’t like to read just haven’t found the right thing to read, and my job is to make that happen!
- The Teacher/Librarian of today and tomorrow must be the tech guru of the school, continually sampling, recommending, and training students and instructors on the latest technology that will aid our learning and train us for the workforce of the future. Our perspective allows us to recommend different resources and methods that can be applied to achieve the maximum results. As a web designer for 15+ years I embrace all types of technology.
- Having spent the last 13 years of my life as a small business owner, and my whole life as a volunteer and community activist, I bring a strong results-orientation to everything I do.
- I’m a member of the very active Media Selection and Review Committee of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, for which I read dozens of books, write reviews, edit others, and our team presents our favorite picks as “book talks” before a packed ballroom at April’s annual PSLA convention.
- I’ve volunteered at and observed at more than a dozen schools to get a first hand look at the day-to-day needs of students of all ages and abilities in the library.
- I recently completed “Digital Collection Curation” training, and participated in a state-wide partnership between school and public librarians to create a LibGuides digital curation of materials on The Civil War in Pennsylvania at the request of Governor Corbett. I created the banner you see on all PA LibGuides and curated content on many pages of the Civil War LibGuides.
- I’ve spoken to college students for career day at Kutztown University and am asked annually to appear as panelist/guest instructor for Professor Arnie Cohen’s “e-Business Entrepreneurship” class at Villanova’s Law School.
- As founder and organizer of my township’s volunteer litter removal crews, Tidy Up Tredyfrin, I’ve worked closely with schools, scout troops, and church groups to educate the public on pollution and to mobilize teams of young people to beautify our community.
- I bring all the skills needed to fit the tall order of being a strong school Teacher/Librarian:
- affinity for teaching;
- management, leadership, team-building, administrative, communication skills, and vision;
- energy, enthusiasm, and curiosity about learning, literacy and technology;
- initiative and drive for advocacy;
- and a love of children and a desire to do something that really matters for our children, our future.
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