My Introduction Dena Johnson EDU 671 Fundamentals of Educational Research Instructor: Kathy Hoover
Hello Class!!!
Share who you are, your professional background & experience (especially any dealing with education), and your personal interests My name is Dena Johnson and I reside in sunny Redlands, California with my fiancé, two sons Tristen and Corey and newborn daughter Bellamahari just born on August 2, I am closing my first year as a MAED graduate student this summer and I am exclusively taking courses online. This is my ninth course with the program and I am especially excited to learn what it is offering. Having an interest in non-profit community based education, I have chose to specialize in Culturally Responsive Education
My undergraduate degree(s) are in Anthropology, Cinema, and Liberal Arts. After completing my degree in Anthropology I decided to travel and teach in Bali, Indonesia. I was a teacher there for nine months and it was a truly inspirational time in my life, that lead me to want to teach students full-time. I am currently teaching sixth to eighth grade students Social Studies at a local Charter School. I have only been a teaching for one and a half years since returning from Indonesia. I chose the MAED program because it offered the CRE specialization that will give me the tools to run a non-profit afterschool program for children in underdeveloped communities. I wish to provide extracurricular activities and a place for student to learn about their rich history and culture
My K-12 experience was done in the public school system in the Los Angeles metropolitan areas. My family did a lot of moving therefore I went to several schools. Each school I made adjustments and was able to stay focused on my educational goals. I was impacted most by culture and the arts. Having excellent teachers guide me in instruction is why I am here today…needing to be a teacher.
A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron." -- Horace Mann