When I was little, I wanted to be someone who saved animals. From late elementary through almost Seventh grade I wanted to be the first Female NFL player and I wanted to play for the Green Bay Packers. That all changed when I took seventh grade World History/Geography with Mr. Bernia. Mr. Bernia was a teacher unlike any other because he treated us like we were capable of more than rote memorization. In his class, we never cracked open the textbook. I don't feel that inhibited my learning at all. In fact I feel his class was my first authentic learning experience.  I fell in love with history that year because I was able to engage with it. We had debates, conducted research, acted out history and learned different perspectives. He did not teach at me; he challenged me to engage, discuss and construct my own meaning from what it was we were taught. Because of Mr. Bernia's pedagogy, I was inspired to teach.

I teach to inspire students to be individual, critical thinkers, not crowd followers. My goal is to teach kids that they have a place in this world and have a role to play in influencing it. Geography, Civics, Economics, Government, Sociology, World and American History all play critical roles in explaining the way the world works and everyone's place in it. I want to have an impact on kids lives. I want to be the teacher that kids are excited to see because they know that their opinions matter, they have a voice in my class as we explore the world and it's institutions together. Students will leave my classroom better equipped for the future as critical thinkers, creators, game-changers and influencers. I love Social Studies and have come to respect their impact on people when taught correctly. I teach to facilitate learning at a level above what has become the norm for our youth.