About Me

When I was 4 years old, my preschool held a Career Day. We gathered in the school auditorium, and when my name was called, I walked across the stage in and proudly annouced, "I'm going to be a teacher."

I've never looked back.

Over the last 10 years, I've developed my skills as an educator both in the classroom and in my community. Here's the highlight reel:

Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from Concordia Unviersity, Wisconsin
Lifetime Educator License from the state of Wisconsin
Foundations of Reading Certified
Experience teaching Language Arts (including Reading, Writing, Grammar, Spelling, and Vocabulary), Art (including Drawing, Painting, 3D Art, and Set Design), Foreign Language (Spanish and German), Social Studies, Music (including Music History, Choir, and Handbells), and Math (one year at the 5th grade level...we managed) to grades 4-8.
Coordinator and Adult Educator for the Real Writers Group, Northcentral Wisconsin
Author of 2 books (and counting)
Freelance editor
Mother to a 4-year-old and a 2-year old, both of whom can identify shapes and count and stand on one leg while eating every snack in a 3 mile radius, thank you very much

My Teaching Philosophy

I'm not much of a Cubism fan, but I do think Picasso had one thing right: Every child is an artist. Teens especially are full of amazing ideas, dazzling passion, and enviable drive (seriously, if I could bottle their energy, I'd give it to everyone for free). My goal as an educator has always been to help each student develop their unique voices, styles, interests, and talents, and to pursue their interests toward a life of neverending learning.

In my classes, students are encouraged to try new things. They're encouraged dream big, to bite off more than they can chew, to struggle, to reflect on what isn't working, to examine their reactions and their processes, to fail—and to keep going. My students are resilient. My students know how to face difficulties, take a step back, and try again, because I work through that process with them. The most successful adults are the ones who can tackle problems with creativity and tenacity. That starts in childhood. When teens learn to trust themselves and their talents, they grow into adults who listen, who empathize, and who aren't afraid to challenge the way things have "always been done."

And I think the world needs more people like that.

About Rosedene

An academy is an institution for the study of higher learning, especially for the education of arts, literature, and science—but what in the world is Rosedene?

In 1930, my great-grandparents, Henry and Martha, bought a dairy farm in north central Wisconsin. Rosedene Guernsey Farm raised cattle, vegetables, and four children, including my Grandpa Lloyd. He married my Grandma Dorothy in 1948, and together, they brought up five children of their own: my two uncles, two aunts, and my mother.

When I began my journey as a self-published author and freelance editor, I wanted to pay homage to their legacy, and in 2023, Rosedene Press was born.

Great-grandpa Henry hard at work (and not loving the photographer's interruption).

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