I grew up the only child in a Montana ranching family that raised race horses. We moved around a lot trying to find the best place for such a life (Montana, Wyoming & Louisiana) until my parents came to their senses and switched careers. Because of those moves, I developed a wanderlust and an ability to easily adapt to new situations. Between high school and college, I backpacked through Fiji, Australia, New Zealand & the Cook Islands. (I also just learned that there is now a phrase for that - a gap year. Back then some people just thought I was crazy.) I went to college at the University of Vermont & then worked my husband through law school in Topeka Kansas before moving to Oregon. In all of those places, the common thread has been my interest in culture and society, particularly how it all comes together.
I am beginning my MAT degree at Willamette University so that I can be a high school social studies teacher. Having a degree in Comparative Religion, I am primarily interested in world studies, humanities and history. My goal is to help students break from some of the compartmentalized learning they encounter and to teach them how everything ties together. No one institution in any society is separate from the other parts, and students deserve to learn how to think for themselves and see the broader picture.
In school, I found that social studies can be excruciating if the teacher is boring. I hope that my students will leave my class with the power to see that the past directly affects our lives and will also leave with a desire to see what lies beyond their worlds. Really, I would be happy if my students leave my classroom with a few "ah ha" moments and a sense of adventure. (I would love to bump into one of them in some far-flung corner of the globe.)
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