I have been teaching many years. Before the Peace Corps, I earned a B.A. in Biology from U.C.S.B. In the Peace Corps, I taught (in Nepalese) modern agriculture (from a textbook), Science, and, the second year, English. On the way home, I traveled with my sister through India, Pakistan, Afghanistan (it was winter in Kabul), Iran (Tehran was filled with traffic during the Shah's time), Turkey (the islands off Istanbul were magical), Crete, Yugoslavia (Tito's soldiers had rifles and took my passport), and finally spent a month in Munich before flying to London and then home to Dallas. I spent years writing short stories and novels, with hundreds of rejection slips, then attended U.S.C. in the Professional Writing Program. Then I entered the Ph.D. program at USC and taught Freshman Writing for seven years. I worked at Shalhevet, a coed Orthodox Jewish Day School, where I taught English and Humanities for nine years and was Academic Dean. I came to Buckley eight years ago as English Department Chair, but for the last three summers have been teaching Chemistry as well.
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| In Istanbul traveling home the long way |
Overall, I am quite proud of my trajectory as a student and educator: serious student in high school of sciences, Math, German, and Spanish, then to UCSB as a biology and pre-med major but with lots of Humanities and music theory and art history, put to use in Europeon museums after sophomore year. Then off to the Peace Corps in Nepal where I taught agriculture and English for two years. Then traveling back through India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Crete, Yugoslavia, and then a month in Munich, then London and back to Texas. Then writing short stories in Mexico, garnering 100 rejection slips. Then to Santa Barbara writing a novel. Then to USC to work on an MFA, writing novels and plays with great teachers like John Rechy (City of Night) and Jerome Lawrence (The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail). Then to the doctorate program in English Lit and Rhetoric, with great teachers like Leo Braudy (Frenzy of Reknown), Tania Modleski (Loving with a Vengeance
Modleski's books), and Mike Messner (Power at Play). For seven years at USC I was an Assistant Lecturer where taught Freshmen Writing, Business Communications, was a TA for the Study of Women and Men in Society (Lois Banner, Mike Messner), and helped train new lecturers in the Freshmen Writing Program. This is where I learned to teach writing. I also taught for three years at Pepperdine University. Then I taught English at Shalhevet School and finally moved to The Buckley School where I've taught 9th, 11th, 12th and AP English and also Chemistry.
Professionally I've found a home at Buckley, which sends me to conferences which I attend and which I present. I've presented professionally with associates from Buckley, Chadwick, and Viewpoint. I have presented several times at CAIS (California Assoc. of Independent Schools) and will be presenting at CEL (Conference for English Leadership) next year, which is a part of the larger national conference of NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English). I've attended the MLA Convention (Modern Language Assoc.) and CATE (Calif. Assoc. of Teachers of English) and had a chance to meet some of the best professional educators I know, people like Jim Burke and Carol Jago, who serves a role models for me. I am constantly reading professional literature and discussing those works with colleagues. As a personal hobby, I love to visit and tour schools: Thacher School in Ojai, Chadwick in Palos Verdes, Pasadena Polytechnic, Marlborough, Harvard Westlake, St. James, and so on. I hope to add to that list by visiting schools in Beijing, Kathmandu, the village near Pokhara where I taught, and perhaps a Tibetan Camp school as well.
I've been lucky to be an educator, which I love, and I've had so many opportunities to connect with students. Many graduates stay in touch with me by email and I have students who are now grown ups with children of their own. Being a teacher is like standing in the middle of stream and watching the youth go by to their destinies, growing up. It's heady and a little disorienting as time passes, but always rewarding.
