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academic background:

Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences from Illinois State University, May 2000

   - Major: Social Sciences

   - Minor: Political Science

   - Honors: Summa Cum Laude

Masters of Arts in Teacher Leadership & History from Roosevelt University, Summer 2003

Masters of Arts in Educational Leadership & Organizational Change from Roosevelt University, Spring 2006

National Board Certified Teacher, November 2008

continuing interest in american history:

- Advanced Placement Seminar:

    1) American History Week-Long Advanced Placement Seminar at Illinois Wesleyan University, Summer of 2001

    2)  American History Week-Long Advanced Placement Seminar at Northwestern University, Summer of 2006

- Newberry Library Consortiums:

    1) Franklin Roosevelt: New Deal & WW II

    2) Lincoln & The Civil War

    3) The Haymarket Affair

    4) The Case of Typhoid Mary: An Investigation into Progressive Era Social Regulation

    5)  Herman Melville's Benito Cereno and the Anxiety About Slavery in Antebellum America

    6) Teaching American History Symposium sponsored by The Homewood Flossmoor American History Consortium and hosted by The Newberry Library

    7)  Homewood-Flossmoor American History Consortium  Seminar on teaching the Civil War hosted by The Newberry Library

    8)  Cold War Spies Seminar

    9) Teaching American History Symposium sponsored by The Homewood Flossmoor American History Consortium and hosted by The Newberry Library/ Bringing Scholarship to the Classroom: US History from the 1970s to the Present

    10)  Teaching American History Symposium sponsored by The Homewood Flossmoor American History Consortium and hosted by The Newberry Library/ Bring Scholarship to the Classroom: American Labor and Immigration History

    11)  Teaching American History Symposium sponsored by The Homewood Flossmoor American History Consortium and hosted by The Newberry Library/Bringing Scholarship to the Classroom: The Progressive Era

    12) Debating Jacksonian Democracy

    13) Teaching American History Symposium sponsored by The Northwest Suburban American History Consortium and hosted by The Newberry Library: Problems and Cases in United States History Before 1887

    14)  Summer Immersion Seminar by the National Council of History Education: American Reform before the Civil War

    15) Summer Immersion Seminar by the Northwest Suburban American History Consortium and Newberry Library: American Reform before the Civil War

    16)  Teaching American History Symposium sponsored by The Northwest   Suburban American History Consortium and hosted by The Newberry Library:  American Indian History as United States History

 - Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminar:

    1) The Era of George Washington by Gordon S. Wood at Brown University

teaching experience:

James B. Conant High School

   -  9 years of teaching experience

   -  Classes Teaching:

        - United States History

        - Advanced Placement United States History

  athletics/activities:

           -  Head Freshmen Boys Basketball

          -  Junior Varsity Girls Badminton

Wall of Fame: 3 Great Americans

As you examine my website it becomes clear that there are three pictures of great Americans whose contributions to the success of our country are immense.  However, the question looms, why these three people?  Well, these three individuals reflect three periods in American History that interest me as a student and teacher: the Founding Fathers Era, the Civil War Era, and the Imperialism and Progressivism Era.  The rationale is that of these periods there were three gifted individuals who emerged as essential leaders during a critical period of our nation's history.  Alexander Hamilton developed the notion of a self-made American by using a sense of opportunity, which America is known for providing to immigrants, as an avenue for his ambition and talent.  With this opening, Hamilton, along with others, was able to institutionalize an economic and political structure that today is the world's most enduring while in process become the third most important Founding Father behind George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.  Another essential leader was Abraham Lincoln who during the most critical time of our Union's existence resembled the substance and uniqueness of the Union by defining the significance of the Union as the "last, best hope of earth."  By doing this, Lincoln was able to illuminate the actions of many young volunteers who were dying while preserve the Union with his actions as Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy.  Furthermore, Theodore Roosevelt was an essential American who reflected the American spirit and culture of the time with his emphasis on action.  Developing a leadership style from Hamilton and Lincoln, Roosevelt was able to inspire all Americans with his sense of optimism and an illustration of power and responsibility during a period when the United States progressed as a democratic nation.

Philosophy of Education

I am a tenth year teacher at James B. Conant High School.  In my classroom, I emphasize critical thinking, effective communication, reading and writing skills, goal setting and accomplishment, teamwork, and personal and social responsibility.  My top priority as a teacher is the success and welfare of my students and finding better ways to challenge and prepare my students for the future.  I have two reasons why I wanted to become a teacher: 1) To model to students the desire to pursue an active role in seeking knowledge and experience and 2) To teach the knowledge and skills that are necessary for students to choose their role in society.  When I contemplate about my students I want to prepare them for public usefulness by using history to instill in them a sense of wisdom as well as a direction of activism within their community.

History is the documented stories of the past told by people of the present.  It is imperative to have a reservoir of factual knowledge that one can apply when analyzing the underlying causes and consequences of those concrete facts.  But besides having the ability to memorize and apply facts, one must also have the capability to read, contemplate, and express their thoughts, both oral and written.  By reading primary and secondary sources, students become conscious on how to read critically, therefore, being able to determine what "history" is biased and less biased.  Also, they learn how to read for themes and not for facts.  Once their reading on a topic is completed, students are then exposed to the skills of criticizing, analyzing, and synthesizing information collected from their readings.  Through evaluating their evidence, they are then able to organize their own interpretation, sometimes a new interpretation of an event, into a structured argument that is communicated in an oral or written format.  By studying history, it teaches and enhances the skills to read, write, contemplate topics, analyze evidence, and organize ideas into a structured argument and clearly communicate that argument.  Therefore, a student that successfully completes a course in history not only has the skills of a historian, but also the skills to be a successful citizen in life.

To attain my goals I use a plethora of teaching strategies.  I mostly focus on applying a variety of instructional methods during a lesson to keep the student's attention on the content and making sure my lesson addresses different academic skills.

a) Seminar Format: Engage in active questions, analysis, and constructing arguments.

b) Reading: Textbook along with supplementary reading in the form of primary and secondary sources.  This provides for a closer examination on important themes in American History and how to active read in the terms of dissecting information.

c) Lecture: Establish a reservoir of factual knowledge along with listening and note-taking skills.  Two-pronged approach: Take notes from textbook along with developing questions on topics that needed clarification.  Update the original notes through dialogue between the teacher and students over questions as well as teacher outlined notes on the subject matter.

d) Primary Source Documents and Secondary Readings: Application of factual knowledge along with using analytic skills and critical thinking.  Furthermore, developing the ability to present reason and evidence clearly and persuasively in an oral and/or essay format.

e) Writing: Learning how to construct a strong, concise, and persuasive thesis that is followed by strong topic sentences in each supporting paragraph.  In addition, learning how to write following the (AEC) concept of: Analysis of a concept, Example to support the concept, and Commentary over the example.  In addition, writing personal reactions to documents that allow students to collect their thoughts in order to stimulate a conversation within a roundtable as well as being able to critique other's writings. 

Overall, I am dedicated to challenging and inspiring students towards academic excellence, mutual respect, and lifelong learning.