THE MIGHTY PEN

I am a career English teacher with 32 years of varied classroom experience which include middle school, high school, and college instruction. My career has taken me to four continents (Asia, Central America, Europe, United States) and has introduced me to a wide range of educational systems and pedagogical frameworks. I have received extensive training in the IB (International Baccalaureate) English A, English B, and Theory of Knowledge programs, and have taught all three of these programs in the United States as well as in Iran, Spain, and Honduras. I am also trained in the AP Language and AP Literature programs, and have taught these programs in both private and public schools in the United States. I have chaired several English departments and have been responsible for designing school-wide English programs in a number of schools. I have co-authored a teaching training textbook and have published many educational materials online.

My educational philosophy is based on several deeply cherished principles, all of which I aim to embody in my teaching and instill in my students. To begin with, I feel that students are living sources of knowledge, not inert receptacles of it. In recognition of this, I attempt to create a stimulating atmosphere in my classroom in which students mental fires can be ignited and in which they feel they have the power to shape their own learning experiences. Secondly, I believe that knowledge itself is organic and alive—an ever-changing force in motion. This belief impels me to foster open-mindedness in my students and to model it myself. Third, I believe that thinking is itself learning, and that a student’s ability to think critically and to question is more important than his or her acquisition of information. Because of this belief, I caution my students against swallowing anything “wholesale” and to develop a lifelong habit of questioning and exercising critical judgment. Fourth, I believe that imagination is one of the strongest forces in the universe, and that all great strides ever made in human history have been the product of imaginative minds. Because of this belief, I attempt to provide every conceivable opportunity for students to recognize, explore, and fulfill their own visions. Fifth, I believe that learning is increased exponentially through sharing. I promote this idea by considering and validating multiple viewpoints, interpretations, and angles on the material I teach. Sixth, I believe that nothing can be truly learned unless it is also enjoyed. It is my goal to make my lessons as dynamic and lively as possible so that students will feel that they enter my classroom by choice, not by force. Finally, and most importantly, I wholeheartedly embrace the following old adages: that the foundation of every society is the education of its youth, and that only the educated are free. I believe that what I teach must be tangible and useful and must have, at least indirectly, instrumental value in changing our world for the better. It is my fondest hope that what I teach my students will have a “humanizing” effect not only on them, but on others with whom they will come into contact. I feel that I am particularly adept at “tapping into” my students’ latent passions and interests, sharpening their analytical/interpretative abilities, and building their writing skills. My rapport with adolescents is easy and non-threatening, yet I am able to extract extremely high-quality work from my students. I believe deeply in my noble profession, and have not experienced “burn-out” even after more than three decades of doing it.

* Multiple year honoree, Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and Who’s Who in America * “Classroom Creativity” Award (Madrid, Spain, 1986) * “Excellence in Teaching” Award (Atlanta, GA, 1999) * Nominated for USA Today’s “Teacher of the Year” Award, (1999) * Finalist for Hidden River Publishing’s 2012 Eludia Award

1974: Full I.B. Diploma from Iranzamin International School, Tehran, Iran 1978: B.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University, Stanford, California 1995: MAT program at Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA 2016: MFA in Creative Writing, Boston University 2001: ACTFL / ESOL Endorsement 2002: PRAXIS English Language and Literature content knowledge and Essays (perfect score)

* Dual national, born in the United States but raised in Tehran, Iran * Fully trilingual (English, Spanish, Farsi); proficient in French and Italian * Widely traveled; significant periods of residence in North and Central America, Asia, and Europe * Married to a Spaniard, mother to two college-aged children * Accomplished free-lance editor, translator, and writer * Author of a collection of stories titled American Moon, currently under consideration for publication * Currently at work on a children’s book titled A Kind of Magic Carpet * Personal fiction has appeared in Quiddity International Literary Journal, Foundling Review, Mobius Journal for Social Change, Fiction International, Narrative Northeast, and others * Live on a mini-farm in Woodstock, GA, with four dogs, 11 cats, several chickens, and occasionally goats and rabbits