Posts tagged ‘interview’

Which face pops into your head when you think of someone who is always willing to help out and do so with a smile? For many of us at Lesson Pathways, it’s Jackie! Jackie has diligently worked to create a number of amazing units for Lesson Pathways. When we needed additional help reviewing units and getting them ready for posting, Jackie was happy to lend her two hands to that project as well. Get to know a little more about this homeschooling mom and Lesson Pathways contributor, below:

What is your name?

Jackie P.

How does education relate in your life?

I am a homeschooler and former school teacher.

What was your biggest triumph as a homeschooler?

Seeing my daughter Hannah excel much faster and be much happier in our home environment.

What was your biggest blunder?

Trying to get Hannah to try and love lap booking. I made her do everything exactly by the book and she hated it. I am a “rules” person and I made a wonderful experience a horrible experience because I didn’t take into account her learning challenges and her learning style.

What has your role been with LessonPathways.com?

I wrote units, tagged units, did copy-editing work, checked finished units for mistakes, added resources to incomplete units…whatever Nikki needed is what I did. LOVED IT!!

How did you come to create Pathways for our site?

I saw the ad for the job on FaceBook and applied.

What was the most challenging part?

Understanding the Deki platform. Once I got that down, it was soooo enjoyable.

Of all the Pathways you created, which one did you enjoy the most?

Oh, this is a very tough one! I loved almost all of them! I would have to say Language 2, The Cricket in Times Square was really fun.

How do you feel Lesson Pathways impacts the educational community?

LP is a wonderful avenue for public school teachers to lighten their work load by using the pre-made Pathways to enhance their curriculum. It is a super way for homeschooling parents to get involved with their children by working one on one with them, without having to invest their valuable time to do the research work.

If you could offer one piece of advice to a new homeschooler, what would it be?

Have more fun with your students or child. So many great ideas and learning take place when the stress levels are low.

Do you currently have a blog or website you would like to let others know about?

Quaint Scribbles.

More about Jackie: Jackie Penn, a former public and private school teacher, joyfully homeschools her 13-year-old daughter Hannah. Jackie made the arduous journey from classroom teacher to homeschool mom just over four years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Currently, Jackie serves as the Parent/Teacher Chair on her local homeschool co-op board, tutors, and keeps busy writing literature units.

Christine, also known as Tina, is a former public school teacher turned homeschooling mom. Throughout her time at Lesson Pathways, she’s been a pleasure to work with and always willing to share her unique perspective as someone who has taught both in the home and in the classroom. Read more about Christine, below:

What is your name?

Debbie C. made the journey not only from public school education to homeschooling, but also from life in the city to running a farm with her family. Debbie puts 100-percent effort into all that she does and is happy to share her experiences (and yogurt-making know-how) with others. Read on to learn more about Debbie:

What is your name?

Debbie C.

How does education relate in your life?

We farm and homeschooled our two youngest children, so learning is a large
part of every day. We moved to our farm from city life, so it has been a huge
learning curve to learn how to feed ourselves.

What was your biggest triumph as a homeschooler?

My youngest son had a very hard time in public school mathematics classes.
It was a huge feeling of success when he suddenly grasped the concepts he
had been struggling with, and now as a teenager, he is excelling in Pre-Calculus
courses. That is such a feeling of accomplishment for a child who couldn’t
grasp long division.

What was your biggest blunder?

I think my biggest blunder was not starting our homeschool life from the
beginning. Our children started in public school and then moved to
homeschooling. It is a completely different discipline.

What has your role been with LessonPathways.com?

My role with LessonPathways.com has been as a contributor who helped build
Pathways. It was a great learning experience for me.

How did you come to create Pathways for our site?

I came to create Pathways because I was writing blogs for
Choosyhomeschooler.com and was invited to.

What was the most challenging part?

The most challenging part was learning the computer.

Of all the Pathways you created, which one did you enjoy the most?

I thoroughly enjoyed The Billy Goats Gruff. I just wish my children were young enough again to want to try the crafts I found.

How do you feel Lesson Pathways impacts the educational community?

Lesson Pathways impacts the education community by allowing the teacher to teach. All the basics are supplied for teachers, so their time can be spent productively interacting with their students.

If you could offer one piece of advice to a new homeschooler, what would it be?

Although it is hard, you need to learn how to relax and let your students
guide more. When we started, I was so focused on needing to get a piece of
work done I forgot that all children learn at different paces and we need to
allow for that.

Do you currently have a blog or website you would like to let others know
about?

Please take a look at Chikousky Farms.

More about Debbie: Debbie C. is the homeschooling mother of four children, two of which she homeschooled through to graduation from high school. When not teaching, she spends her time freelance writing and farming. The Chikousky family is currently delving into traditional food storage and preparation methods, such as fermentation, and having a blast incorporating this learning into hands-on homeschooling science experiments!

Crystal P. brings her experience as a classroom teacher as well as the wealth of knowledge she’s gained as a parent to Lesson Pathways. She’s proven to be a positive part of the Lesson Pathways team, taking on everything from Pathway creation and writing to editing and state standard compilation. Get to know Crystal below:

What is your name?

Crystal P.

How does education relate in your life? (eg. homeschooler, teacher, caregiver, etc.)

I’m a certified classroom teacher. I also have many children of my own.

What was your biggest triumph as a classroom educator?

It’s hard to nail down one event. I try to find positives in even the smallest activity–each student/classroom/school year presents its own challenges and I like to think that something positive has come from each of them.

What was your biggest blunder?

I was teaching a classroom of 7th graders and we were discussing the significance of phrases/signs/hand gestures and how they vary in different cultures. I’m still not sure what possessed me to tell them, but I explained that the “peace” sign is not exactly a friendly expression in some other cultures. They were very excited to be privy to this information.

What has your role been with LessonPathways.com?

I’ve had several roles with Lesson Pathways. I’ve been in charge of an education-related article writing project, worked on state standards, and edited Pathways. Right now, I’m working on Lesson Pathway’s newest feature, Travel and Field Trip Pathways.

How did you come to create Pathways for our site?

Last summer, I broke my ankle in three places. I was looking at 10 weeks of being couch-bound. One of Lesson Pathways’ team members asked me if I’d like to help out during my convalescence. I was glad for the distraction.

What was the most challenging part?

I always question myself. “Is this what they want?” “Is this going to be useful to everyone who needs it: homeschoolers/classrooms/parents?”

Of all the Pathways you created, which one did you enjoy the most?

I really enjoyed creating the Washington, D.C.- National Mall Pathway. It reminded me of a really great weekend I spent there.

How do you feel Lesson Pathways impacts the educational community?

Lesson Pathways provides a rarely found, high-quality, free resource. To find both of these qualities together is often hard to come by. Together, they are able to impact the educational community by being accessible and easy to use. That is something parents and classroom teachers are looking for.

If you could offer one piece of advice to a new teacher, what would it be?

Don’t be afraid to try new things. A quality education doesn’t come in a box.

Here’s how Crystal describes herself: Crystal-wife, mother, teacher, writer, sloth trainer.

Liz K. started out creating Pathways and eventually moved on to reviewing and editing others’ contributions. She currently monitors comments users add to our science section and helps update links. Liz is always willing to pitch in and help when needed and can be counted on to do an excellent job. Read more about her below:

What is your name?

Liz K.

How does education relate in your life?

Homeschool parent.

What was your biggest triumph as a homeschooler?

Two homeschool graduates!

What was your biggest blunder?

Trying to throw money at problems–spending too much on curriculum.

What has your role been with LessonPathways.com?

First as a contributor writing Pathways and then as a reviewer/editor. Now I am monitoring the Science Pathways for questions and concerns and assisting to fix broken links.

How did you come to create Pathways for our site?

I heard about the project, applied, and was accepted.

What was the most challenging part?

All the math units!

Of all the Pathways you created, which one did you enjoy the most?

There wasn’t one Pathway. It was more of a category–the Language Arts Pathways were fun to write.

How do you feel Lesson Pathways impacts the educational community?

Pathways opens up the Web and shows how learning can occur outside of textbooks.

If you could offer one piece of advice to a new homeschooler, what would it be?

Relax and remember that teaching kids to love learning and how to learn will be more beneficial than stuffing their heads full of facts and figures.

Here’s a little more from Liz: I graduated from Bob Jones University. My husband and I have three children and two grandchildren. Have been homeschooling for over fifteen years. Writing and copy editing keeps me busy when I’m not homeschooling. Writing projects include stories for BJU Press, short pieces for Family Fun, articles off and online, a newspaper column, and high school literature lesson plans.

We’re pleased to present a new series here on the blog.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing you to the people who worked tirelessly to make LessonPathways.com possible.  We’ll be hearing from Pathway creators, editors and managers.  We hope you enjoy this “behind the scenes” look at all of these fantastic people!

Jennifer G. is one of our fearless leaders here at Lesson Pathways. As you’ll learn from the following interview, she wears a variety of hats as she works to make our site a user-friendly, invaluable educational resource. We asked Jennifer to share her thoughts about education and Lesson Pathways. Here’s what she had to say:

What is your name?

Jennifer G.

How does education relate in your life?

Homeschooler.

What was your biggest triumph as a homeschooler?

I don’t know that it was a triumph, but more of a confirmation that all the hard work pays off.  After homeschooling for 7 years, my son was accepted into a technology high school with strict entry requirements.  He aced his placement exams and as a freshman, he is now taking two junior level courses.  He is studying Biotechnology and was just accepted into an internship program with a local Biotechnology firm.

What was your biggest blunder?

Oh, there were many!  I think the two biggest were:

1) Trying to follow a schedule that was too rigid.  When we first started homeschooling, I tried to schedule every minute of the day and tried to do too much work each day.  I didn’t allow for natural learning, but instead looked at the number of pages of material we got through.  I soon realized that this causes a lot of anxiety for everyone!

2)  Trying to teach my children using techniques that work best for *my* learning style.  I’m a very visual learner, so I naturally tried to teach my children the same way.  I finally stepped back and took some time to watch them learn and see what techniques were best for them.  This was quite an eye-opening experience, as each of my children learns differently.

What has your role been with LessonPathways.com?

I originally started working on the ChoosyHomeschooler site and then became involved in the conceptual development of the Lesson Pathways site.  I wear many hats, but mostly work on the technology, marketing, and operations aspects of the site.

How did you come to create Pathways for our site?

Our company founder, Richard Rasmus, and I had been discussing the concept of Lesson Pathways for many months.  One day I sat down at my computer and decided to create a sample Pathway.  My kids and I had just finished planting some seeds for our container garden and we had discussed the various types of seeds and how they grow into plants.  We had used the Internet to find information, articles, and videos about seeds.  I used these resources to create the very first Pathway on the site – Learning About Plants: Seeds

What was the most challenging part?

For me, the most challenging part of creating a Pathway is finding the resources and decidingwhich ones to use.  This is actually how we came up with the concept for Lesson Pathways.  There are tons of great educational resources online, but it takes a lot of time to sort through them and find the ones that are 1) appropriate for children, 2) high quality, and 3) at the correct educational level.  Many parents and teachers who use online resources spend a significant number of hours researching and planning.  Our goal for Lesson Pathways is to reduce planning time, so educators can spend more time teaching and learning.

Of all the Pathways you created, which one did you enjoy the most?

Well, I guess it’s time for me to make a confession here.  I’ve only create TWO Pathways!  The first is the Seeds Pathway mentioned above.  And the second is one of the new Travel & Field Trip Pathways,  Lexington and Concord Massachusetts.

How do you feel Lesson Pathways impacts the educational community?

I believe that Lesson Pathways offers educators the ability to easily find and use online resources.  My children are constantly asking questions about science and history.  We used to Google everything, but now Lesson Pathways is our first stop. I know that if we type a term into the search field, we’re going to find results that have been hand-selected by the Lesson Pathways team.

If you could offer one piece of advice to a new homeschooler (or new teacher, if you are a classroom educator), what would it be?

My advice to new homeschoolers:  RELAX!  Your children are learning all the time and you don’t always need worksheets, quizzes and tests to prove it.

Jennifer G. is a  mom of three very active boys.  Her family enjoys taking educational field trips to destinations throughout Europe and the Caribbean islands.  In her spare time, she enjoys running, reading, and local travel adventures.  She also volunteers in a local women’s shelter, teaches yoga and relaxation classes.