MORE ABOUT ME

Teacher: I see classrooms wherever I go. Sometimes it’s the kind with desks and whiteboards, other times it’s a kitchen table or an unexpected conversation in a busy hallway. Regardless of the place, the purpose and the questions are constant: What’s the lesson here? How do we need to learn it?

Parent: There isn’t a more important role I have. These three continue to teach me all the lessons I need to learn (whether I want to or not). Being a mom has made me a better teacher and being a teacher has made me a better mom.
ADVOCATE: I am honored to find myself in positions to advocate for the profession, for teachers, and most importantly for the potential of every student. Panel on teacher preparation, Education Nation.
NBCT: One of the most profound experiences of my career was going through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards program and achieving certification in 2005. I renewed in 2015 and am currently serving on their Board of Directors.

Teaching and Learning Conference, with Ron Thorpe, 2014.

Learner: In the best way possible, learning is a little existential for me. There’s always another boulder to push up a hill, always another struggle to scream through, always a sense existence comes from the lessons we’re willing to learn. That’s me. Vulnerable. Imperfect. Authentic. Insatiable.
Speaker: It’s become the outward exercise of my inward contemplations. The bridge between the chaos inside my head and the clarity others deserve. I’m a speaker because I’m a writer, because I’m a thinker, because I’m a teacher.
Questioner: I always tell my students that I’d rather hear an interesting question than a right answer. Perhaps as much as anything, the question is my go-to teacher move. Perhaps it makes sense, then, that I’m always up for facilitating, asking, probing, discovering.

Great Teachers roundtable moderator for Teaching Channel, 2014.

2010 National Teacher of the Year: I had the distinct privilege to represent the teachers of this country as their ambassador in 2010. 39 states, 250 engagements, 3 countries and 63 delayed or cancelled airline flights later and I “went forward” to my classroom more determined than ever to become a better teacher.

National Teacher of the Year Recognition Ceremony, White House, 2010.

Host: When I first enrolled in college, I did so as a broadcast journalism major. But the writing didn’t suit me and I didn’t suit the camera. So I happily found my way to a classroom. Sometimes circles come full, and my media work – hosting a PBS show for Teaching Channel, various video spots, and PSAs – has given me incredible insight to the power of messaging and narrative.

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