Maleese Warner EDU650: Teaching Learning and Leading in the 21st Century

Hello my name is Maleese Warner and I live in a small California town three hours north of San Francisco called Point Arena. My Husband and I have a wonderful dog named chopper and we are big sports fans. I grew up in New Jersey just outside of NY city so he converted me to a SF 49ers fan and a SF giants fan. We love to watch sports and for our honeymoon we went to see the SF Giants play in the world series.

The small town I live in is on the ocean. And along with being sports people my husband and I are water people. We both surf and I love paddle board yoga along with yoga on land. When we are lucky to have a sunny days, because northern California on the coast is almost always foggy and cold, I try and get to the beach to do yoga.

When I was growing up my parent where divorced and I was bounced around from school to school. I was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 12 and found an escape form school stress in cheerleading. I loved cheerleading because it was like a performance and I didn’t need to wright to do it. So now that I am in my thirties I started a Pop Warner Peewee Cheerleading program in our small town of Point Arena. The cheerleading is one of the only programs for children to do that are under 8 years old and gives them something physical to focus on.

I am also a Tribal Head Start teacher for ages 3-5. I helped to open and start the program with my employer the California Rural Indian Health Board three years ago. We just had our third graduation. I am so proud of all my little graduates and I hope to graduate with them next year! I am working towards an Education Masters with a focus in early childhood education. I am looking to further my career and become a director of an early childhood program.

“Teach to learn” Baba Hari Dass My philosophy on teaching is simple and was given to me by one of my yoga teachers. Baba Hari Dass who teaches Ashtanga yoga in Mount Madonna California says that we should all “teach to learn.” I feel this is simple but powerful because we are students and teachers to each other at all moments of life.