Bard, A Place to Think - Master of Arts in Teaching

Hometown:Madison, CT
Previous Education: Skidmore College, B.A. English
Work Experience Prior to Bard:
Camp High Trails Outdoor Science School, Angelus Oaks, CA
New Dominion School, Dillwyn, VA

Currently Teaching:
10th grade English, journalism, and drama, The Grove School, Madison, CT

Why did you want to become a teacher?
Reading and discussing literature has been a passion of mine from a young age. Since teaching allows one to share his or her interests with others, this led me to consider it for my profession.

Why did you choose Bard?
The MAT Program demonstrates equal consideration of a teacher’s proficiency in content and pedagogy. I found no other teacher education program which so clearly valued this balance.

What do you like best about Bard’s MAT?
The quality of the professors is outstanding. Not only are they extremely knowledgeable about their subject area, they have worked extensively as classroom teachers. However, the faculty’s greatest attribute is their vast dedication to preparing their students to become teachers. They genuinely care about their students' opinions and concerns and actively seek to discuss and address them.

Tell us about your student teaching experience.
I appreciated that the program gradually introduces me into the classroom. The transition from small group tutoring in summer school to implementation of a classroom research project seemed daunting but was facilitated with great forethought and guidance.

Was there a particular professor or course that you especially enjoyed? Why?
I feel that the lab class best demonstrates how the content I learned at Bard was applicable to my classroom placements. The class serves a number of vital roles such as providing a venue to reflect upon student teaching and the opportunity to design approaches to teaching. My English lab section was co-taught by Julia Emig and Derek Furr who also instructed several of my English and education classes, respectively. Both of them, as well as my cohort, provided invaluable support for my field placements.

How do you put what you learned at Bard into practice in your classroom?
Since MAT places a great emphasis on the metacognitive approach to education, I was well prepared to begin my first year of teaching with great independence. MAT gave me training that allowed me to decide upon curriculum, self-reflect upon my implementation, and make appropriate adjustments afterwards. As a result I was asked to formalize the curriculum I had developed to become the official 10th grade curriculum. In addition, my training allowed me to adapt to working with a student body that all have some form of learning disability. Despite not having a special education degree, I was prepared to accommodate to their needs and modify my instruction due to the approach of the MAT.

"The MAT Program demonstrates equal consideration of a teacher’s proficiency in content and pedagogy. I found no other teacher education program which so clearly valued this balance."