Kazoo School Faculty since 2017

Email Mel

Paolo Freire wrote that “Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” After teaching writing and literature at the university level and teaching at Kazoo School for six years, I have come to the understanding that a sense of community and critical co-investigation are essential to a successful classroom. My hope is for students to ask questions, to engage in dialogue, and to know that their voices are important. One of my goals in the classroom is for students to take ownership of their writing and to claim a place within the classroom and within a larger community of writers, readers, and citizens.

Apart from writing and reading, my interests include playing music, riding my bicycle, cooking, gardening, and kayaking.

Education

B.A., English Moorhead State University
M.A., English University of North Dakota
Ph.D., English Western Michigan University

Kazoo School Faculty since 1996

Email Rose

Prior to moving to Kalamazoo in 1996, I lived and taught in Eugene, Oregon and Madison, Wisconsin. I graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1986, having completed an internship teaching at Stone Environmental Schools in Maine and Massachusetts. I received a Fulbright Scholarship for Teaching English, which took me to Strasbourg, France, where I lived and taught English to high school students at the Lycee Louis Pasteur. Upon returning to the U.S. I picked up my outdoor education interests to teach at another residential environmental school, Nature’s Classroom in Connecticut.

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1990 with a Master’s degree in Social Work, specializing in Children, Youth and Families, and in 1992 with a second Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education.

When I moved back to Kalamazoo, I began teaching at Kazoo School in a 1st/2nd grade basegroup. Over the years, I have taught all levels from 1st through 8th grade at Kazoo School and currently teach Upper Elementary students.

Kazoo School has been a perfect fit for my progressive teaching style and philosophy. I see students as active participants, problem solvers, and planners of their own learning. My role is to guide the children on their individual journeys as they become thoughtful problem solvers, motivated critical thinkers, active leaders, respectful collaborators, kind friends, and lifelong learners.

Education

B.A. in Psychology from Kalamazoo College

B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin

M.A. in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin