Ruth S.

I've been an elementary and middle school teacher for over 25 years in Connecticut and have served on ELA and history curricula committees. I was the Connecticut representative on the Weekly Reader National Teacher Advisory Board and appeared on ABC's "Good Morning, America", to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Weekly Reader. Working with the other state representatives and Weekly Reader's editorial, graphic arts and marketing departments, was an incredible experience! For ten years, I was a NASA/Lockheed Martin Mission Systems "Student Signatures in Space" teacher. My students, Board of Ed, staff and others signed NASA posters that accompanied astronauts during space missions aboard the space shuttles. We also participated in NASA's/Lockheed Mission System's "Space Day" held at the Mall, in Washington, D.C. where my students had the amazing opportunity to speak with space experts, like John Glenn, Homer Hickum and others.

Learning must be a personal and exciting experience for students. I have fun teaching and believe that humor is an essential part of the classroom. I'm a firm believer of Howard Gardner's "Multiple Intelligences" theory that all children have different strengths and learning styles. To accommodate my students, I always try to integrate art, music and hands on activities in my lessons whenever possible.

Yes, I've received awards and have been honored for various accomplishments over the years, but personally, the greatest honor is to teach and encourage children to "reach for the stars" in order for them to recognize their talents and potential.

B.S., Western Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University, two Masters Degrees

For four years, I was a guest presenter at the NELMS (New England League of Middle Schools) convention in Providence, Rhode Island. I shared several of my innovative projects with K-12 educators, from New England, Canada and other countries. I'm an avid writer and have written and edited a variety of educational articles, including a 250 page manuscript that will be printed in France next spring. I was retained by NASA as an author, in 2009, and write articles about various space topics for K-12 levels based on the National Science Standards. The articles are published by NASA and sent to teachers and students around the world. My current project is researching and writing a historical fiction novel about the Great Depression for kids, ages 9 - 14. It's a pleasure to be able to share my original lesson plans with with other educators.