About Me

I am a 4th generation educator so teaching is in my blood. I grew up around education. My mom was a high school English teacher and I spent lots of time as a little girl in her classroom, helped her grade papers and even served as the mascot for the drill team she advised. She also served as a counselor, assistant principal and a principal before she retired after 44 years.

After spending time in the banking and travel industries, I decided to get my teaching credential too. My choice was social science because of my love of history. I earned my credential in 2000 and entered the working world. I spent two years at the middle school level. Then I moved to the high school level where I have spent the last 10 years.

I currently teach US History and Economics and was just recognized as the 2012 High School Social Studies Teacher of the Year by the California Council for the Social Studies. This school year I am participating in a Teaching American History grant along with 120+ other teachers. We spend lots of time learning literacy and technology strategies, hearing from scholars and visiting local historic sites. During my summers, I participate in other learning seminars from organizations such as National Endowment for the Humanities, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Foundation for Teaching Economics.

I moved to my current district 5 years ago (2007), right before California's current budget crisis started. It is March 2012 and I just received my 4th pink slip in the last 5 years. FYI - California law requires that any teacher who might not have a job for the next school year must be notified by March 15th. The district then has until May 15th to either recind the notice or the layoff becomes official.

My frustrations with education reformers, the California budget crisis and the layoff process are why I decided to start this blog. I hope to share my ideas for whats really wrong with education and how to fix it, explain why it is imperative that we stop cutting funds to education and lessons I have learned from being a teacher.