Abigail Walker

I have taught English to Middle School students in grades 6 through 8 for six years. Out of those six years I was the English department head for two and trained teachers on the new Texas Essential Skills and Knowledge requirements, TAKS testing, creative writing and reading comprehension skills.

I am a progressive educator. I believe in attending to the whole child, that learning isn’t something that happens to individual children — separate selves at separate desks. Children learn with and from one another in a caring community, and that’s true of moral as well as academic learning. I believe that collaborative learning environments work best. I believe in social justice and this creates a safe learning environment as well as an open mind. I believe that intrinsic motivation inspires learners and fosters a continual learning and self improvement versus short term. Progressive educators take their cue from the children — and are particularly attentive to differences among them. And I believe that not all children are the same but they all have the potential to succeed. The ability to be versatile is crucial to my teaching style.

Student Council Advisor of the Year

St. Edward’s University Austin, TX Bachelor of Arts in English Secondary Teacher Certification English Certification Spring 2002 University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX AP English Certification Summer 2006

Member of ATPE; UIL leader for editorial writing; participated in the Middle School Conferences; trained in 6+1 Writing Traits; Pre-AP Certified; leader for “People to People Student Ambassador Program” to chaperone students through Europe; student council advisor for three years; English department head for two years Completed 20+ hours of workshops in special education, gifted and talented education, writing, TAKS information dissemination, and brain-based learning, CPR certified Computer skills: PC, Mac, Gradebook, Lotus Notes, MS Office, Adobe software, A+, Java-script and HTML