1. Jen Luther Introduction

2. About Me Hello class! I’m so excited to get started with this course, and to work with each of you. I separated from the military in May 2013, and moved to sunny Northern CA with my husband and two beautiful kiddos. Emma is 5 and Colton is 4 years old. I got my Bachelor’s degree from Ashford University in Social and Criminal Justice, but after completing it decided that I really wanted to pursue a career in education. I began teaching in 2009 when I was still Active Duty Air Force. Essentially, each job in the military has a specific technical training school that every Airman must attend. I taught Airmen how to take raw information and through various processes and analytical techniques translate it into something that could be actioned on by senior leadership. I love family time (camping, hiking, bike riding, family fun game & movie nights, etc), reading, and crafting.

3. Education Background My K-12 background was pretty standard. I went to a public school, was enrolled in a few advanced placement classes and played on the soccer team. I was actually the only girl on our high school soccer team for the first two years that I played and then enough girls got interested in the sport that we were able to get our own all girls team. I had a supervisor once who was very inspiring to me. He definitely led by example but no matter what we had to do he always found the positive in it. He would always say “If you can make ‘em laugh, you can make ‘em do anything” and that really was true.

4. Looking Towards the Future I am enrolled in the MAED program. I’m so happy to say that after completion of this class I will start my final class to complete this degree! After completion of this degree I hope to teach online classes. I really enjoy the interaction with students in a traditional brick and mortar classroom but online classes give me more flexibility since my husband is still Active Duty Air Force and we have a few more assignments left before he retires.

5. “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” -Margaret Mead “Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” -Plato I could not decide on just one quote. I like to think of myself as a lifelong learner. I do not think I’ll ever get tired of learning and I wish that for my own children as well as my students. I believe with a passion that you have to get to know your children as well as your students and orient the learning to something that THEY enjoy or can relate to.