About+Mrs.+Harwood

**A Brief Introduction: **    **Education:  ** TEFL Certification (Teac ****hing English as a Second Language) Elementary Education license from University of Denver **
 * Background:  **
 * Although I was born in Montana, my Montana & Colorado-raised parents ended up in Texas, where I grew up and spent a great deal of time enduring the heat outside (running cross country) or seeking relief via books or conversation in some nicely air-conditi ** **oned place. After grad ****ua ****ting ****<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> from the University of Oklahoma and marrying my wonderful husband, Stew, we happily migrated to Denver for hi **<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">s **<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">work. **
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After moving to Denver I was ble ****<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ssed to teach English as a Second (or third, fourth, fifth) Language to adult refugees, then began to work with refuge<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">e children at Ellis Elementary. The school administration persuaded me to become a full-time paraprofessional--little did I know how thor **<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">oughly I would fall in love with helping children learn! After one year as a para, I decided to acquire a teacher's ****<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> license, worked like mad at the University of Denver in a one-year accelerated certification program, student-taught with the fabulous fourth-grade teachers at Steck, and ... voila! Here I am--thankful and excited to share a year of learning with your child, and thankful to be part of such a dedicated, talented, and fun staff! **
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">B.A. in Letters from University of Oklahoma (combination of literature, philosophy, and history, plus an ancient & modern language--emphasis on Middle Eastern Studies)

<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-size: 130%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Outside-of-School Interests: ** <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dating my husband, hanging out with friends at our church & elsewhere, reading ****<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, trying to figure out how to live with integrity and justice, running, hiking/walking/camping, drinking copious amounts of hot beverages during the winter, and experimenting with growing container veggies on our balcony. **