After graduating from University of Michigan with a degree in English Literature and French, I went to graduate school for Journalism as a Newhouse Fellow. I then worked as a newspaper reporter at The Star-Ledger in New York City. I couldn’t believe my job was to talk to people, ask questions, and report their stories. But while there, I realized that I wanted to make real changes in the world - not just report on them. I became a NYC Teaching Fellow and started my education career teaching middle school in Brooklyn, New York and later in Chicago. When I returned for another Masters (this time in Secondary Education and Teaching), I met an inspiring professor at Brooklyn College, Alan Shweky. He was one of those gifted professors who made teaching come to life and really focused on the ‘why.’ I still have and refer back to the course pack that he compiled from his own experiences - ones that remain pertinent today.
Who was the K-12 teacher who made the greatest (positive) impact on your own life?
I have more than one to share. First, Mrs. Evans who was my History teacher. She made the subject come alive with a lot of texture. She was the first person who focused on assessing the real “truth,” revealing whose perspective might be missing from the retelling of a story and who may not be in the frame in the photo - but still part of the action, and part of what makes up the whole truth. As the daughter of Iranian and Arab parents, I appreciated her willingness to probe the narrative further.
Ms. Smalley was my 6th grade teacher. She really helped us find the nuggets in our lives that had bigger meaning. She asked us to mine our lives to find those little moments that we could learn from and write vignettes around. Ms. Smalley taught me the art of great storytelling.
Finally, Ms. Savage. She was young at heart and helped us connect us to acting upon our beliefs and what we felt passionate about. At that time, I was passionate about healthy eating. Ms. Savage encouraged us to lead and so I helped start the Nutrition Club, dedicated to revolutionizing everyone’s eating habit - in middle school! We created our own philosophy and motto (“Clean Eating”). Later, I found an ideal school fit working at Namaste where one of our four pillars was “Nutrition and Wellness.”
3. What is a professional inquiry you are currently pursuing?
How can we harness the inherent power of families?
I’m interested in the intersection between home and school - and how we can better harness the inherent power of families. What families are doing at home (storytelling, cooking, singing, changing a tire!) are all literary practices that can and should be lifted up into the literacy work we do in the classroom.
4. How are you pursuing it?
Two of my fellow Heinemann authors inspire my work: Cornelius Minor (The Minor Collective), an educator and father, who explores how the work of creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday life choices - and Lorena Germán (author of Textured Teaching) explores a more expansive idea of text. She often goes back to the “why” of literacy and advocates for the fabric of our classrooms feeling textured and varied.
5. What is a personal inquiry you are currently pursuing?
How can I carry all that I carry and not feel so overwhelmed? [I have four children, finishing my first book, turning 40 and moving this summer!]
6. How are you pursuing it?
Oh, so many things…exercise, keeping my chakra stone close, breathing, time with important women in my life, and mantras like “The ground is below you. The sky is above you. You have this breath, and it is beautiful.”
7. To improve teaching as a profession, what three things would you advocate for and why?
1) Sabbaticals
We need to provide time for teachers to revitalize themselves and rejuvenate their practice. They don’t have to be year-long. We can get creative with chunks of time for teachers to step back and reflect. Those who teach never cease to learn, but we need to craft space for them to do that consistent learning.
2) Provide an amazing lunch every day
I know this sounds simple, but I believe a nourishing, free meal could make a huge difference. Imagine not worrying you’d have a nourishing lunch or dinner five days a week!
3) Eliminate useless PD
Adult learners deserve choices. Let’s not waste their time asking them to spend time in workshops and ‘trainings’ that don’t apply to them.
8. You gotta see this!
One of my favorite books is Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I used the cover design to inspire my gel nails recently - and wrote about the experience on my blog.
Honorable mentions: Crying in H Mart (I’m obsessed by food stories) and Wave (an extraordinary novel in verse written by an Iranian physician about a girl in the 1980s whose friend is grappling with cancer).