A Letter of Introduction

It's that time of year where new beginnings are on the horizon.
So for those intersted further in the founder, I present a letter of introduction...

"You have a marvelous rapport with children."
-Michele Lawrence, BUSD Superintendent

There is a common colloquialism in education of 'meeting children where they are.'
Since 1992 I have been living the adage. Whether I was volunteering at a children's story time, writing and implementing science curriculum for preschool, I have been genuine with children. And they are the first to recognize it; maybe along with a Superintendent who has been around schools for forty odd years.

Becoming a teacher has been a most natural and inevitable evolution. It's like the mouse and moose from, If You Give A Moose a Muffin, -if I were the moose, I'd take the muffin to m classroom and and ask my kids about it. Why? Because it is crucial for me to always ask myself, "How do I know what they know?" And that always begins with a question for my students. Experiencing and developing the thought processes of children has been a contiguous journey. The sojourn has been even more compelling as a registered coach with the United States of America Jump Rope organization. Double Dutch jump rope is a passion of mine. Kids seem to love it too. In 6 weeks I witnessed my classroom of 3rd graders, a chrysalis, emerge through a full 3 minute 'fusion' routine flawlessly for over five hundred people. We did it together. In addition jump rope has been a tremendous teaching tool when applied in science and mathematics.

As there are varied modalities that children access information, meeting children where they are requires adjuncts to kinesthetic and contemplative approaches. The desire to be understood is a commonality that we all share from our earliest beginnings. Writing is a most powerful and critical discipline for young people. In 2006-07' I started a before-school, voluntary writing club. The attendance hovered around eleven students. This year the class bloomed to fifty-plus students. With a range of attendees from second grade to fifth, students were investigating dialogue, grammar fundamentals, character and plot development, as well as developing nuances of finessing the reader.

My passion is teaching. The capacity of my enthusiasm is bound only by a student's imagination. The profession of teaching is in an age where mediocrity no longer suffices. And it has been my honor to continuously rise to the challenge of it.

In all truth,

brd