More About Mrs. Stewart

Education

M.Ed., Quality Schools, Graceland University , Lamoni , IA

B.A., Secondary English Education, Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho, Magna cum laude

Honors Diploma, Kodiak High School

Personal Educational Philosophy

Education should be student-centered. The teacher should act as a mentor, an assistant in the student's discovery of learning, a facilitator of learning rather than a dispenser of knowledge. Likewise, the student should not be a passive recipient of information, but an active participant in the learning process. The teacher should guide the student to learning through experimentation and broad exposure. Learning should be a cooperative effort between teacher and student.

Through education, the student should be able to develop skills that will enable him or her to be a contributing member of a democratic society and the rest of the world, to make the future world a better place. The individual should also be guided in his or her personality development and maturation toward the healthy adult that is this member of a changing society. Students should learn skills such as working cooperatively with another, creative thinking and problem solving. The curriculum should allow success for each student by meeting individual learning needs. To do this, a classroom must offer a variety of learning tools and presentation modes with a high level of interaction among students.

Learning should be academic and non-academic to prepare students for a number of situations after schooling is complete. Teachers should encourage students to question their own thoughts and values throughout their education, to take responsibility for their own learning and to become free and independent thinkers with a love for learning and with the goal of being a lifetime learner.

Mini-biography

How did I get here? Though born in Salem , Oregon , I grew up right here in Kodiak. After a short four years in college (and one semester of graduate school toward a master's degree in school counseling), I returned to start my teaching career. It is a rare opportunity to be able to teach alongside those who taught and inspired me as a student! This is my eighth year as a classroom teacher. Although I have taught a number of English classes (and one math class) along the way, I have also had at least one freshman English class every year, and it continues to be my dream job. I also enjoy advising the high school Student Council, and it feeds my belief in the power of student voices to affect change. I live here with my husband of nine years, our two-year old son, and our crazy Jack Russell terrier Roxy.