1. The road of life twists and turns and no
two directions are ever the same. Yet
our lessons come from the journey, not
the destination. Don Williams Jr.

2. I was born in a small town with two streets
parallel to each other: Dusty dirt roads, corn
fields, bean fields, springs with crystal clear
water, mosquitoes, one school, one
neighborhood…with the slopes of
Kilimanjaro as my oasis
Moshi, Tanzania, East Africa

3. • Elementary school: local schools that
the British left behind and we
faithfully continued
• Secondary school: Founder student
for the school built by Irvin
Mortenson [father of the author of
“Three Cups of Tea”, Greg
Mortenson]
Moshi, Tanzania,
East Africa
• I had teachers from all over the
world, from Australia to the United
States
• Why is this important?
 my foundation was colorful,
strong and memorable

4. • I couldn‟t get a college • Montessori‟s
education due to philosophies meshed
political and cultural with mine and I made
constraints them mine when I
• My choices: a nurse became the
or a teacher administrator for a k-3
• I chose a teacher – school that I attended
my mother was a when I was 3
teacher

5. • Built the school and connected us to the local
schools, making us a collaborative educational
community
• Personally and physically renovated the building:
painted murals that were synchronized with the
landscapes and history of the town; designed an
outdoor stage for theater; created a landscape with
the school staff and children, and by the school staff
and children
• We were the first school that dared to teach children
with special needs: they taught us and we taught
them

6. • Curriculum design and helping colleagues understand learning is a
two-way traffic highway became my calling
• Created strong literacy and mathematical foundations for all students
• Developed science kits for k-12 which evolved into working with a
colleague designing and implementing a science handbook for
teachers to understand and perform more effective laboratory
exercises for students
• Established a school band from 3 participants to 24. Personally
wrote the music and transposed the music to incorporate harmony
• Wrote custom-made plays that were appropriate for our students
pulling together diverse cultures and the geo-dynamics of the country
• Participated in the development of the Nairobi Museum inaugurating
the African-Indian [people of India] section
• Participated in several charities in several ways
• Received my first degree while married into a joint family and being
the proud mother of two children

7. • Received my second degree and now my third
• The dots began to connect: my educational experiences
and philosophies were given a theoretical framework by
which I was practicing
• My learning „curve‟ was a straight line in a positive
direction
• My work ethic allowed me to be given a wide variety of
experiences because I built trust among my colleagues
and administrators
• My humorous side found a home
• My creative side took a leave of absence as I focused on
family, career and just taking in the new country

8. Whatever we think about and think about we bring about - John
Demartini

9. • My father changed one • My mother made me do
man‟s life [the town „fool‟] community service every
simultaneously teaching evening and most
me how to be cognizant of weekends at an
people‟s differences: orphanage and
„Everyone has a gift – find thalidomide-victim home
it‟ run by missionaries. She
• His funeral had so many too volunteered her time
individuals with and money
challenges thanking my • Her funeral had all her
mother – of whom we „sons‟ and „daughters‟
knew none: They were all thanking us for giving
his „sons‟ and „daughters‟ them a second chance in
life
•

10. Share my experiences through academia, professional and where
appropriate personal.
Teach my experiences as tools to better teach any student