professional biography

My teaching career has been a lifelong journey that began when I was just a small child. The people who are close to me have heard this story often since it is pretty much the sum of who I am. My father was a high school vocational teacher for about 15 years. After receiving his master’s degree he moved into administration. He resigned as a high school principal shortly before his death in 1976 when I was only seven years old. He did not resign however from teaching me the importance of education and leaving me with a strong desire to help each person live to his/her full potential. One story that I hold close to my heart is how he taught electronics to a blind boy. My father first learned Braille himself to better understand the importance of touch and “seeing through your fingers”. He bought a brail typewriter so that he could make a hard copy of his verbal directions, and together they accomplished what people had told them was a waste of time. I pull energy and inspiration from this story frequently to keep me from becoming discouraged and frustrated if I fail to find the right “connection” to get through to my students. Patience, creativity, and imagination have been the keys to my success as a special education teacher. My current position as a self-contained IDMO teacher at the high school level has proven to be not only the most challenging, but the most rewarding as well.
In November of 2007 one of my students, Curtis, was experiencing an unstable home life. His father had undergone nerve surgery that went astray and was in a nursing home undergoing physical therapy. His mother was dying quickly of lung cancer which left Curtis’ 18 year old niece to care for them both. Curtis’ father knew they needed help and called me late one Sunday evening to ask if we would open our home to his son. There was no discussion needed, my family stood behind me and we left together to help him pack and “bring him home.” This new living arrangement sounded much easier than it was. Curtis is an African American male who would be sharing a bathroom with two adolescent Caucasian girls. Curtis was 20 years old at the time but constantly asked my 14 year old to “pick him up like a baby”. Curtis loved to watch the Hispanic channel, dominating the TV so that my 11 year old could no longer watch one of her favorite shows Full House. Curtis fed my dogs cookies and tried to get my cat to drink Sundrop. My husband helped Curtis take a shower three times a week because he had never learned to do this independently. What started out as an adventure for everyone turned into quite a struggle by the end of the fourth month. During his stay with us, Curtis’ mother passed away. One of the most heartbreaking things that week was trying to explain to Curtis what “dead” meant. Eventually it became clear that he needed to see his mom in order to have closure. That week I took Curtis and his dad to the funeral home for a private viewing so he could say good-bye. No matter the mental ability, we’re all really the same. We have to see to believe before we can cope. Curtis stayed with us until his dad finished physically healing and could go home, and then they began healing as a family. To have Curtis’ dad trust me and my family with his care during such a tumultuous time was humbling to say the least and this is what I believe to be the biggest contribution I have made to education. Not just for Curtis, but all my students.
To end on a more celebratory note, this past fall I nominated one of my female students, Dani, for junior class homecoming representative. Dani wants so badly to be “normal” this was one thing I could do for her. The students at MPHS did the rest when they made her dream come true by electing her junior class representative.
My accomplishment to teaching will be met when my students are accepted not for their academic ability but as loving, caring human beings. With the students and faculty at Mount Pleasant we are getting there, but we still have a way to go. To me that’s like teaching a blind boy electronics.