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Ms. JoAnn Jensen
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Cherokee Middle School
Class Information:
Room Number: 112
Students per Class: I teach everyone.
Class Description:
I teach a hybrid of Family Consumer Education and Health education. It is called "Wellness" at our school. I teach 9 week courses at the 6th and 7th grade levels and a 4 1/2 week class at the 8th grade level. This changes with each year and budget cut. The course work covers foods and nutrition, relationships, mental health, drug abuse prevention, and sexuality education at the developmentally appropriate level for each grade. While I only see students for a quarter of the year, I see them at each grade level as they progress through middle school.
Position:
teacher
Needs:
An LCD projector and a dedicated laptop for students to present classroom projects(Power Points, DVDs, etc.). A mobile demonstration table and overhead mirror for food lab demonstrations.
My Philosophy:
My philosophy of education is the bones on which I hang the flesh and blood of teaching and learning. It is the job of the educator to keep education alive and vital; to feed the needs of the learner with high quality food for thought; to exercise my own and the student’s intellect; to put to good use the wisdom we’ve gained; and to make time to rest and reflect upon my work so that I can sustain and maintain the energy to do my job the best I can. A good teacher is a curious and lifelong student whose continual study increases his or her strength as an educator and integrity as a person. In education, change is constant. To become static in our methods and mindset leads to invalid teaching and the eventual death of learning. I believe education must be relevant to the student. We must be mindful of all the cultures in our classrooms and school to reach all our students. I work in a middle school that is one of the most socio-economicallyand ethnically diverse in Madison, Wisconsin. During the ten years I have taught at Cherokee, the number of Spanish speaking students has tripled. This makes English language literacy programming crucial. Our population of English Language Learners is at 27 percent. Our ESL students come from Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Albania, Russia, Laos, Vietnam and other places far and wide. In order for these children to survive and thrive in American society they must learn the language and culture while retaining and cherishing their home language and culture. They will be able to do this if we as educators respect and coax out the knowledge students bring with them. Our students are our teachers. Through them we hone our practice and with them we develop meaning in our combined work. Learningskills necessary to lead a healthy life is important for all children. Many of our ESL students come from limited means and gaining literacy in health matters is especially important for these children. The challenges educators face in teaching the ESL population pales in comparison to the life challenges faced by many of our immigrant and migrant children and their families. In order to better serve any student, a teacher must be well trained and current in best practices for the populations he or she serves. The tools, techniques and training are out there to help face the challenges we have in this new millennium. Our government and school districts need to fund and enforce education with the same voracity as our national defense. A poorly educated public is detrimental to society as a whole. A nation’s best defense is a caring, educated and active public. I want all students to have the opportunity to receive enriched educational experiences no matter their level of English language fluency, race or socioeconomic status. I am committed to providing a high quality educational experience to all the children I teach by maintaining and sustaining my training as a teacher.
Personal Information:
About Me:
Born in Milwaukee WI 1958 Married with 2 adult children
College and Degrees:
BS Family Consumer Education UW Madison certificationin Health education UW- Madison certificationin English as a second language UW- Platteville
Activities:
Advisor to the Cherokee Gay Straight Alliance Sewing Club leader AV Club co-leader WellnessCommittee LearningLeadership Committee for the standards-based report card Socio-emotionalLearning Committee for developing SEL standards
Interests:
painting poetry gardening
Employment History:
I began teaching 10 years ago. Before that I was a stay-at-home Mom, deli worker, produce manager, factory seamstress of tents and awnings, hairdresser, waitress, cook, dishwasher, retail clerk,
Why Do I Teach?:
It's a good job. I come home knowing I did something for the betterment of our society. it has good benefits. It changes continually so it is never boring. I like the age group of students in middle school.