One of the most important things for me as a
teacher is knowing my students. If you point to a kid,
I want to be able to know at least five things about
that student. I try to know every child as an individual:
which books they like, which style of music, which
video games. Knowing them at that level helps me to
be a better teacher—helps me to create the kind of
environment where I know they’ll flourish.
Before coming to Laguna, I worked at a much
larger school in Los Angeles. After several years of
teaching, I looked up and realized that out of 250
students in a grade, I only knew maybe 20-30 percent
of them in that capacity. It was a tough realization for
me. It was that day that I started looking for a place
where I could get back to that small, personal learning
environment that is so important to me. It took me
a couple years to find the right fit, and I found it at
Laguna. I started teaching history here in 2014, and I
can tell you that not a day goes by that I don’t remind
myself of why I came here.
YOU ARE NEW TO THE ROLE OF HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL
HERE AT LAGUNA, BUT YOU’RE DEFINITELY NOT NEW TO
THE SCHOOL. WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO LAGUNA IN 2014?
MIDDLE SCHOOL CAN BE A CHALLENGING TIME FOR MANY
CHILDREN. WHY DO YOU LOVE TEACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL
STUDENTS?
DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW YOU WANTED TO TEACH?
YOU SERVED AS LAGUNA'S ASSISTANT HEAD OF MIDDLE
SCHOOL IN 2015-16. HOW DID IT FEEL WHEN YOU WERE
NAMED HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR THE 2016-17
SCHOOL YEAR?
THIS ISSUE OF LAGUNA BLANCA MAGAZINE IS FOCUSED ON
“THE LAGUNA EXPERIENCE.” HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE
THAT EXPERIENCE FOR OUR STUDENTS?
I think the short answer is: I get them. And they
know I get them. And that goes a long way in creating
the trust that is so important at the 11-14 age. Middle
Schoolers are so complex and funny and emotional
and crazy. That is the magic of this age group. It’s a
roller coaster of life every single day. They’re stuck
between the Lower School, which was so nurturing,
and the Upper School, which is full of independence
and freedom. They’re right in the middle, which can
be tough. But it can also be the best of both worlds
here at Laguna. That’s what I want it to be for them.
Oh, no. I actually fell into teaching completely
unexpectedly. I had been pursuing a Ph.D. program
in African history and decided to take a break. I was
offered an assignment teaching history and geography
at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. It was a
happy accident, you could say. Twenty years later, and
I have never looked back.
Honestly, it was the happiest moment I’ve ever
had here at the school. The kids were so excited. I will
never forget their cheering my name and how good
it felt to stand before them in that moment. Beyond
that, I was just filled with excitement for the future.
I have a huge amount of admiration for both Rob
Hereford, our head of school and Dr. Lolli Lucas,
head of upper school. I look forward to helping guide
Laguna in a thoughtful way to make it an even more
wonderful place for our students.
The Laguna experience is about teaching our
students how they fit into the world. I taught
geography when I first came to Laguna, and for me,
it was about teaching our kids that geography is more
than memorizing a list of countries and rivers. It’s
about the connections we all have to one another.
So many teachers here seek to make those kinds of
connections for our kids, and that’s why Laguna is
such an amazing place.
Beyond that, I believe Laguna is about the joy of
learning. Our kids are genuinely happy to be here.
I worked in a school once where the kids would come
to class and ask, “are we going to do anything fun
today?” I can honestly say my students at Laguna have
never asked me that question. The Laguna experience
is fun. Our children smile and laugh and love coming
to school every day. That’s what it’s all about.
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