Welcome to The History of Humanity!

I am currently in my fourth year as a secondary education teacher at Desert Christian Schools in Tucson, AZ. Classes taught include: US History, Government, Mock Trial, Psychology, and Photography.

I have a passion for history and I delight in the energy, critical thinking, and creativity of high school students! It is my belief that:

• excellence in education is a life-long process
• quality teaching means facilitating learning in a student-centered atmosphere
• students learn best in a safe (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) environment
• project-based learning encourages a love of learning
• summative assessments should not be a one-time, high stakes test
• the key to classroom management is established student/teacher trust
• education should not be constrained to four walls
• asking meaningful and relatable essential questions is vital to classroom engagement
• there are countless types of learners and therefore, learning styles
• it is the teacher’s responsibility to teach according to the unique learning needs of every student
• a 4-point grading scale is superior to a traditional, 100-point grading scale
• standards-based teaching and grading is the only way to truly be able to assess whether a learner knows, understands, and can do something content related
• cross-curriculum fosters collaboration among teacher colleagues and therefore, positive professional development
• cross-curriculum reduces student/teacher workload and offers both the ability to see how all concepts interconnect

Current Certifications/Awards

• M.A in History and Education
• B.S. in Secondary Education and Social Studies
• Arizona Teacher Certificate
• ACSI Standard Certificate
• Georgia Induction Certificate
• 2019/20 Excellence in Teaching Award
• 2019/20 Teacher of the Year (student body selected)
• 2018/19 Teacher of the Year (student body selected)

Other Current Involvement:

• Panel Member for 2019/20 School Accreditation Process (Standard 5: Academics)
• Standard Leadership Team Member for 2019/20 School-Wide Reevaluation of Standards
• National Honor Society Committee Member

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