What excites you most about working at Dublin?  The fact that I am able to teach, dorm parent and coach Dublin students is what excites me the most. In past years, I have had the privilege of not only have a student in class, but who has also been in my dorm and on the tennis team. You are able to see the same student in three unique realms at Dublin and they are able to see me in three very different roles.

Have you changed at all since you came to Dublin? How so? Dublin has changed my outlook on private education and it has given me an opportunity to be a better teacher. I started my teaching career in a public high school and although most days we very challenging, my job at Dublin has meant that I have become to value the private school environment and what it can offer students from all backgrounds. I am better teacher today, not because of my years of experience, but because of the many different kinds of students that have sat in my Dublin classroom over the years.

What animates you? Watching students figure something out or make an important connection on their own animates me when I am in the classroom. I love when students are able to point out something that I have not thought of or when they ask questions that are thought-provoking. It means they are truly engaged with the material and this would make any teacher happy.

What' do you do outside of school that enhances your teaching?Or, what do you do outside of school that would surprise your students? Every summer for the past five summers I have attended some sort of teaching institute/professional development opportunity. I have found each summer to be equally rewarding as I have used what I have learned in my classroom. I'm a fellow of the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College, as well as an Alfred Learner fellow that is associated with the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous based out of New York City. I've also attended a three-week program on Social Movements in America and recently I spent a week at Philips Exeter learning how to incorporate the Harkness method into my classes. I have found each summer extremely enriching as I have read, learned and participated in these institutes and I have grown a new appreciated for what it really means to be a student, but more importantly a life-long learner!

What's unusual about the way you approach your subject? I approach teaching history by trying to connect past events with current ones or I try to make the events of the past relevant to a teenager's life. While this poses a great challenge, I respect that not all students love the subject like I do, so I attempt to get their buy in or get them to connect to history in anyway I can. I also do not lecture and students learn by discussing engaging materials. Over the course of the year my students will learn how to defend their ideas using texts to support their opinions.

What do you do to push kids outside their comfort zone in the classroom? Students in my classroom must participate in our daily discussions to earn points and it never fails that students sit at the table who are shy, quiet, lack self-confidence, etc. I strive to give the alternative ways to look at their own participation and to not compare their's to the most talkative student in class. Asking questions, redirecting the discussion, or simply agreeing with a comment that has already been said are all valid ways to earn participation/discussion points.

What is the most surprising thing that happened in your classroom? Overall, what is most surprising happens when the school year is wrapping up and I ask the students to reflect on their experiences in my classroom. I am always caught off guard to read their comments and critiques to learn that they actually enjoyed something that they didn't necessary show any enthusiasm for during the school year. Another thing that I find surprising in my classroom are the times that students are able to change my way of thinking about history. When they present a new viewpoint that makes me think about an historical event, it tells me that they are really engaged.