Throwing Starfish

A long time ago, in a small rural district far, far away, I began teaching 12 little third graders. I was part of the early eMINTS program in that district, and I taught third grade there for three years. Then I moved on to teach fourth grade in a larger district nearby. I taught the heck out of fourth grade for ten years, and then made a career move. Despite my instinctual fear of middle schoolers, I accepted a position teaching our district's gifted program for grades 6-8 and K-1 (the little ones didn't scare me). Turns out, middle school tweens are AWESOME people. Who knew?!?! It was a wonderful experience, but after another decade it was time for a change! In 2023, I made what will likely be my last career change. I am currently a community college instructor in the Early Childhood program.

I like to keep it real, y'all. I want everything we do in any of my classes to be engaging and relevant for the students, as well as challenging them to learn and grow and see the world more clearly or in a new way. I expect my students to give their best, to be kind, and to keep an open mind. Everything we do has a purpose, and I make sure that my students understand what that purpose is. I want our classroom to be a welcoming, joyful place.

I get a lot of crayon pictures of myself titled "Best Teacher Ever". Do those count? I think they do.

Truman State University, BA History, 2000 Truman State University, MAE Elementary Education, 2001 University of Missouri-Columbia, EdSp Mental Health in the Schools, 2008

“Once, on ancient Earth, there was a human boy walking along a beach. There had just been a storm, and starfish had been scattered along the sands. The boy knew the fish would die, so he began to fling the fish to the sea. But every time he threw a starfish, another would wash ashore. "An old Earth man happened along and saw what the child was doing. He called out, 'Boy, what are you doing?' " 'Saving the starfish!' replied the boy. " 'But your attempts are useless, child! Every time you save one, another one returns, often the same one! You can't save them all, so why bother trying? Why does it matter, anyway?' called the old man. "The boy thought about this for a while, a starfish in his hand; he answered, "Well, it matters to this one." And then he flung the starfish into the welcoming sea.” ― Loren Eiseley, The Star Thrower