Parents & Students,
Welcome to the fall 2025 semester!
I am so excited to be here at Airport High School. It is the start of my 12th year at our school (but 20th in education). I hope the new semester will see AHS run smoothly, that all our students thrive, and that all I teach learn to love literature.
Here's a little bit about me: I have taught in many environments, enjoy teaching all types of students, and absolutely love everything ELA. Among my most favorite experiences as a teacher include a year teaching ESOL in the Czech Republic, participating in the Fulbright TGC, and recently receiving a PhD from USC with a focus on the intersection of travel and literacies. In addition to teaching, I love cooking, reading, swimming, perambulating & wayfaring, beach camping & surf fishing, leisurely bike-riding, jigsaw or crossword puzzling, playing Scrabble, and traveling anywhere new, particularly places w/ a connection to literature. I'm also a proud Atlanta native and émigré. I am married and have one mini-me daughter, Poppy, a witty, independent, and egalitarian five-year old who loves swimming and gymnastics.
This semester I'll be teaching English 2 CP, Journalism, and AP Lang. All pertinent info about the courses can be found in the syllabi, aligned to district and state expectations. Everything you'll need will be disseminated via Lex2 email, Google Classroom, Remind text messages, but mostly PowerSchool.
The best way to contact me is via email: crasmussen@lex2.org. Please reach out any time.
Sincerely,
Dr. R.
MORE ABOUT ME....
Education Background:
Ph.D. in Teaching & Learning, University of South Carolina, 2020
M.Ed. in Secondary English, Mercer University, 2014
B.A. in English, Emory University, 2006
Certifications:
SCTS 4.0 Evaluator, 2022
SC Teacher Mentor, 2015
AP English Language, 2014; AP English Literature, 2022
Gifted & Talented Certification, 2014 (GA); 2023 (SC)
South Carolina Teacher Certification, 2009 (renewed 2014, 2020)
Georgia Teacher Certification, 2006 (renewed 2008, 2013, 2020)
TESOL/TESL, 2008
Favorite Books (well, some at least):
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
Confederacy of Dunces by John O'Kennedy Toole
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Favorite Short Stories:
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, & "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov
Favorite Poems:
"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne, pretty much everything by Emily Dickinson, & "Truth" by Gwendolyn Brooks
Favorite Genres:
Dystopian, allegories, poetry
Favorite Movies:
My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Breathless, Clueless, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Fight Club
Favorite Musicians:
The Beatles, The Kinks, The Zombies, The Velvet Underground, Blondie, Joy Division, New Order, Belle & Sebastian, The White Stripes, Outkast, John Prine
Favorite Place I've Visited:
Tie b/t Iceland & Morocco
Where I'd Love to G:
The Maldives or Zimbabwe
Favorite Quotes:
"The mind is like a parachute. It must be open in order to work."
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
"Only the educated are free."