What are three things you’ve learned in your career? 1. God is able. 2. God doesn’t need me to do His work. 3. Every person whom I meet (including children) has something to teach me. Who has impacted your life the most? A paragraph couldn’t hold the people who have impacted my life. My family has taught me how my Heavenly Father loves me and how to care for others. My friends have helped me laugh and enjoy life. My Shiloh family has become the iron that sharpens me; they encourage me to continue to grow. My students, both present, past, and future, have been my inspiration. I truly believe they will become Godly leaders who engage their culture and change it. I wake up every morning at 4:15 am ready to see them, to give them a hug or an encouraging word, to correct them at times, and to let them know they can do more than they think they can. Along the way, my parents have believed in me. My sister and my husband always believe in me. Miss Carol McCormick first told me the gospel, and I understood its meaning personally. Cliff Palmer interviewed and hired me as a kindergarten teacher. JoAnna Miller taught me the ins and outs of teaching reading. Donnie Smith taught my young married small group. Dr. Stacey Williams believed I could be an administrator. Our Shiloh Leadership Team (both past and present) have supported me. What are the three most recent books you’ve read? 1. How to Teach Spelling by Laura Rudginsky and Elizabeth Haskell 2. Unlocking Literacy by Marcia Henry 3. Truth Weaving by D.P. Johnson What are your favorite books to read to children? 1. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack. This book is about a young duck who doesn’t board the boat on the Yangtze River when his master calls at sunset. 2. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. This book brings me to tears every time the boy makes the rabbit real! 3. The Empty Pot by Demi. This book is about living a life of integrity, even if it is hard. 4. The Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Wojciechowski. This is simply the best illustrated Christmas story aside from the biblical account of Jesus’ birth. What are the top two things you what your students to KNOW when they leave elementary school, after knowing Jesus personally? 1. Do something hard. We live in a world that is easy. As children, they may have chores; but for the most part, they are things they can complete in five minutes or less. Some never have homework. Even if they could do extra, they would rather use their time leisurely. It’s difficult to learn to work hard as a kid. As adults, the expectations change quickly, and our children aren’t ready for it. They are capable of much more than they think. Therefore, I ask them to do something hard—every day. Push. Look at failure as an opportunity to learn. Work with the end in mind. Set goals. 2. They are cream. As a little girl, I loved to go to the barn and watch Grandma milk cows. When she carried the milk to the house, I would begin to see the cream rising to the top of the bucket. I want my kids to know they are cream. They may not realize they are cream today because each of them is working so closely together with each other developing leadership skills. When they leave Shiloh and begin to attend different universities, serve in churches, take positions of employment, and have opportunities to share their beliefs, they are leaders. They have been prepared, primed and prayed over to be Godly leaders for tomorrow. FACULTY SPOTLIGHT 9
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