About Me
My teaching career began in China in 1987. Three years later, at the American Academy in Istanbul, Turkey, I adopted my life’s motto: “I want to dance with the whole world!” Include everyone, exclude no one. I have been devoted to my partner in life for over 30 years, the last 20 of those in our little home on the river bend near downtown Tulsa.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Oral Roberts University
Why I Teach
My passion for teaching is deeply connected to helping students become better global citizens, equipped with the essential critical thinking tools needed to imagine and pursue their future with greater confidence.
Currently Available Courses
English Lit 10
In English Literature, students read contemporary and classic works of fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction to identify the elements of Literature. Lectures and student research help students read texts in historical context. Throughout the course, students participate in and lead discussions, conduct original research, and develop both analytical and creative writing projects.
Experience Learning
This TSAS elective immerses students in off-site field trip adventures! Students will gain enriched insights exploring destinations in the tri-state area (Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois) after reading and researching several topics: Native Mounds Culture, Jazz Culture/Harlem Renaissance, and the pioneers who explored regions west of the Mississippi River after the Louisiana Purchase. In the classroom, students will begin exploring with a daytrip to the Spiro Mounds, and the course will culminate with an excursion along I-44/Route 66 to St. Louis and Hannibal, MO, and Cahokia, IL. From St. Louis we will make day trips to Hannibal, home of Mark Twain, and Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.
Harlem Renaissance
In this elective, students will explore how a group of Black writers and thinkers give birth to a renaissance. Students will choose one of the members of the group to research and give voice to in a dynamic event at the end of the trimester, a “rent party.”
Seeking Shakespeare
Who was William Shakespeare and why aren’t the questions of authorship more widely known and discussed? After looking at recent research and scholarship on the playwright, students will watch several comedies, tragedies, and a couple of the history plays—all attributed to William Shakespeare, the man from Stratford Upon Avon.