Nov. 29, 2005 issue

Four years ago, I came to Eastern because it is one of the few institutions training future teachers to teach students with emotional impairments.

During the last 30 years, I've come full circle as a student, teacher, administrator and teacher of new teachers. I've had a full career and I'm ready in my life to give back.

I'm delighted with Eastern. I love to teach and the students are fabulous. They are young adults who really care about learning and want to know everything there is to know.  

I try to make the material come alive in my classes and, if I teach in ways they can understand, I can capture the students' attention.

I love to teach my classes for emotional impairment majors, since that is my main focus. In my classroom management course, I try to help the students become proactive teachers who emphasize the positive in classroom behavior control.

I've been educated at large universities, but I love the size of Eastern. It has a great teaching atmosphere. And the Porter building has SMART classrooms. I can bring in a PowerPoint presentation on a disk and use a computer so every student can see the visuals on screen. Technology makes teaching a breeze.

Beyond the teaching, it is wonderful to work in a department that is friendly and supportive of each other's needs and responsibilities. The special education department at EMU is one of the best places I have ever worked.

In the future, I'll keep teaching at EMU until I retire one day.

 

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