What year did you become a member of the PS 230 community?

2005

What are some of your favorite hobbies and/or interests?

I love to visit museums, draw and paint. I am beginning to exhibit some of this work. Most of all, I love to walk through industrial places, cities, and even the countryside, and take photographs. I am currently compiling black and white images with corresponding poetry for a future book - mostly during the summers and our extended breaks. I love to go to concerts of various types of music.

What do you like to do in NYC?

What I like to do in NYC is visit museums. Currently, I have been trying to visit more galleries as well. Most of all I like to photograph the industrial edges of the city.

What teacher most influenced you?

The teacher who influenced me the most was an art professor in college who told us to randomly pick 3 pastels from the box to draw with. He said otherwise we would keep picking the same things over and over, and by random picking we would learn something new - by doing something we never tried before. I keep that spirit, when possible, with everything I do I try to pass that on to my students by teaching about the growth mindset, and by finding tangible examples or activities to help understand important ideas.

What is one of your most memorable school experiences?

One of my most memorable school experiences was the day in 8th grade when my biology teacher explained people study for tests. I had never known that - I just thought some people had photographic memories and that studying was form of cheating (I thought you learned it when it was taught or you didn't know it!). Once I knew that it was actually OK to study, and how, it changed my learning experience for the years to come. It was the beginning of having a growth mindset.

What is your favorite book?

My favorite book is a hard question, because I love to read. I am usually reading 2 or 3 books at a time, a few pages a day. My favorite would have to be Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, which describes a series of fantastical cities in poetic prose - and each short description is an insight into an idea about how people live and what they dream or long for.

When was a time you failed and what did you learn from it?

A time I failed was when I tried to learn Kung Fu at first. I was not athletic and so could barely keep up with the instruction, nor did I know how to observe and learn physical activities. I kept at it, and kept working hard. People moved quicker through the program and I kept at it. Eventually I gained strength, stretch, and learned how to learn. Most of all I learned how to practice. I kept going to tournaments and eventually began to win forms divisions.

What I learned was that if I had patience, and kept reflecting on one thing I could improve, and then another when that was better, that I could grow my own ability. It was up to me to ask questions and keep at it, to accept critique and not stop.

What is your favorite quote and why?

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." by Malala Yousafzai.

At the moment this is my favorite quote because I am working hard to keep setting new goals, and take the goals I had to set aside in the past and keep working at them now. Reality is not always like your dream, but some of my dreams are coming true because I am making them come true.

What is your favorite season and why?

My favorite season is the spring, because it is a time of renewal and hope. We get to go back outside after a cold winter and enjoy nature. In spring, I get to see how much my students have grown, and how they are beginning to synthesize what I have been teaching them!

Mrs. Egle-Burns' profile