Accomplishments:
- Mount Mary Social Science Methods Instructor
- Taught at Pius for over twenty years
- Ninth year teaching AP US History
Credentials:
- Masters (History) UW-Milwaukee 1999
- Honors Bachelor (History Marquette 1985
- Working on National Board Certification
Interests:
- Love learning about and interacting with the environment (biking, gardening, teaching wildlife education)
- Rec league (note lack of serious competitiveness) volleyball and softball player
- Sharing history and culture of Wisconsin (immigration issues in particular)
Community Involvement and/or Service Work:
Every Monday evening I volunteer at the Wisconsin Humane Society in the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Because I have been there so long, I also train new volunteers.
Additionally, during migration season I participate in the Wings program (Wisconsin Night Guardians) collecting and documenting bird fatalities and rescuing injured birds (and bats) who have the unfortunate bad luck to have to navigate through the unfamiliar territory of our tall downtown buildings. (Glass windows are surprisingly deadly.)
In 30 words or less, please describe your personal teaching style.
It’s important to me to work at least as hard as I ask my students to do. To practice with patience, offer context and purpose, require thought and application are all critical components of our work. We focus on understanding where we’ve come from, what it means today and what it might mean for their future.
Briefly explain how you integrate your faith and Catholic values into your teaching.
Social Justice teachings often fit neatly into the social sciences. As it is difficult to appreciate other people without an understanding of the times and cultures outside their family and neighborhoods we begin there. In some of my courses (Holocaust and Current World Issues) students are pushed to get involved in that world outside their familiar zone and to do something actively about the problems they see affecting others.