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My Summer Reading
My Summer Reading
One of my favorite things about the summer is having time to read good books. This summer, my reading was a mix of nonfiction, historical fiction, and contemporary fiction. My favorite book of the list was definitely Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet -- a purely fictional imagining of the life and death of Shakespeare's only son. (He did have a son named Hamnet who died at age 11.) I love books that take me to different places and times, and that's one of the reasons I enjoy teaching AP Literature.
I have been teaching English and Drama classes at Benicia High School since 2004. I have taught English classes to students in 9th -12th grades, and have worked to align the course curriculum with the California Core State Standards. For several years I have been teaching both AP Lang and AP Literature; now I teach the AP CAPSTONE classes as well. I enjoy the challenge and the rigor of teaching the AP English classes and am always looking for new and innovative ways to help my students become stronger writers.
I came to teaching through an interesting route. I started off as a dancer and musical theater performer in New York, but I stopped performing, decided to become a teacher, and earned a MA in English Education from Columbia University Teachers College in 2001.
I believe in learning as a process. I believe in making mistakes and in learning from them. I believe that all students are capable and need to be challenged, but I don't believe in throwing students into the deep end without support. I believe that anyone can become a strong writer-- if they are willing to put in the work. I teach students techniques and strategies to help them develop the skills that they will need in order to become strong writers and critical thinkers.
In addition to teaching, I have also been a teacher-leader and coach. I have given "Ed-talks" to teachers at CSU East Bay, and worked as a part of the Instructional Leadership Corps (ILC)-- a network of teacher leaders and professional development workshop facilitators through the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE). I am now a Teacher Mentor through the Teacher Induction Program (TIP) associated with the New Teacher's Program at St. Mary's College.
I am a mom to a current BHS student, and a BHS graduate of the class of 2020 who is now attending St. Mary's College of California.
When not teaching, reading, or grading essays, I enjoy spending time with my children, hiking, yoga, gardening and travel, although it looks like I won't be traveling any time soon. In past years, I have taken groups of students to Europe to study theater, art, and history in London; art history in Greece and Italy; and to learn more about the Cold War and WWII by visiting sites in Germany and Eastern Europe.
When not teaching, I can most often be found walking my dog, Finn, or reading a book.
Along the banks of the Spree River in Berlin, 2017.
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