I chose American University because I was drawn to its commitment to providing quality education to all students with its focus on anti-racism, with its focus on equity, with its commitment to providing for the students who truly need it the most, and are not currently benefiting from the system as it exists.
I think as a program, providing our students, our teacher candidates, lots of opportunity to really practice the challenging instructional skills that one needs to be a good teacher, right-- is really important. There are what had been named as high leverage practices that we know make a difference in how K through 12 students learn. One practice we focus on is having a very student centered classroom, getting students to talk about and understand what they're learning as a means of assessment. So if we can have students practice those, I think they are then better prepared to face the realities of the classroom. Teaching is a complex act, right? And I always view it as an art and a science. The art is hard to teach, right? That's the creative-- that's the individual. The science of learning is taking what we understand from cognitive science or from learning sciences, and applying it into teacher education.
Having my own children, feeling like I can see the amazing difference that a good teacher can have on a student's life is what drew me to change careers. And that's what keeps me going every day.
