Celebrating Nixon's Teachers

from a series of Nixon News articles

Kathleen Bianchini - First Grade Teacher
by Marci Reichelstein

For 16 years the Nixon School has been graced with the inspired teaching of Kathleen Bianchini. She prepared for this journey by attending Whitworth College in Spokane, WA and obtaining her teaching credential from San Jose State. Currently she is working on a Masters degree in Reading and Literacy, which she plans to complete in the spring of 2003.

Kathleen is an educator who has seen almost a generation of children pass before her. The most fundamental change she has experienced over this period is the loss of children's personal time to "achievement". Parents, and the organizations they run, put so much pressure on kids to be excellent at school and accomplished at everything from the violin to soccer-at very young ages-that children no longer have much time to play in an unstructured way with friends and form deep, meaningful relationships. Kathleen believes that kids need "time to be children" and to play and explore in self-directed ways. Play, she believes, is also the balance point to all the pressure children feel these days.

Kathleen is the parent of three young children. Elizabeth (4th grade) and Tony (3rd grade) are at Nixon School. Her youngest, Benjamin, will start kindergarten here next fall. As a parent, Kathleen understands first hand that what parents want for their children is not necessarily what the children want. She feels that the best thing parents can do is MODEL, MODEL, and MODEL. "Act like you want your children to act and they will follow," she advises.

With the gift of song (and a music major in her back pocket), Kathleen uses singing and music to stimulate as well as soothe her students. She often makes up songs in her classroom then changes the words or beat so that more and more children are involved in marching, clapping, singing, and ...well... rejoicing! Kathleen's second love is walking - often with her family along the baylands where the colors of the ocean are her harmony.

Deborah Schweninger - Kindergarten Teacher
by Marci Reichelstein

What should kindergartners walk out the door with this spring as they are launched into their first "grade" of school? The ABCs? Counting to 100? The ability to explain the eating behavior of starfish? NO. For Deborah Schweninger, Nixon's newest kindergarten teacher as of last year, it's self-confidence and that can-do feeling that makes kids feel that "This is my world! I'm on top of it!" Deborah says one of the ways she fosters this assurance is by fostering independence and a sense of joyful discovery in the classroom.

Teaching children tolerance and showing them how valuable diversity of many kinds can be to their learning and growing is a key passion of Deborah's. She invites the world into her classroom and teaches by doing things with many different approaches. "The more energy and range of experience, the more cylinders in each child are stimulated." To Deborah, celebrating diversity means you thirst for the expansive view one gets from interacting with the widest variety life offers; different appearances, ways of doing things, languages, cultures, ages, genders, and religion.

Deborah feels she gains her students' trust and acceptance by being a good listener and being very available to them. She invites children to tell her what they think and assures them that what they say is really important. They feel heard when Deborah reflects back on these discussions during circle time and gives students a voice in determining the classroom curriculum.

Deborah came to Nixon with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz and Masters level work in Adult Literacy and Education from San Francisco State. Aside from tennis, gardening, reading, cooking, and swimming, Deborah's newest fervor is painting. Sooo...if you see she's chomping at the bit to leave one day - it's only because she's feeling the call of those water-based oils ... and sumptuous images yet to be created.

Kim Peckenpaugh - 1st Grade Teacher
by Sylvia Sanders

First year teacher Kim Peckenpaugh loves her first graders'enthusiasm. The first time she turned on the overhead projector,the students responded with, "Wow! What IS that?" And when she passed out texts, the students exclaimed, "Wow! My own math book!"

Kim began to consider a career in teaching when her daughter,Brook, was a 2nd grader in Lisa Lichtenstern's class. As a classroom volunteer, Kim became fond of both Lisa and the kids in the class. Even after Brook went on to 3rd grade, Kim continued to help out in Lisa's class. Kim became more and more involved at Nixon, student teaching last year with "great and supportive master teachers," Martha Waterhouse and Katie Woessner.

Kim has many talents and interests. She worked as a computer programmer in Fort Worth, Texas after graduating from college, enjoying the combination of logic and creativity, as well as interactions with people, that programming required. After her son, Bryson, was born, Kim worked as a stay-at-home mom. Somehow she found the time to write humorous essays for parenting magazines. She also wrote a few screenplay comedies that poked fun at Texans.

When I asked Kim what she does in her leisure time she laughed and said, "I read curriculum texts." When she's not studying, Kim likes to walk on the paths off Arastradero, and to watch movies - she prefers romantic dramas. Kim also likes to read literary fiction; Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg and Pat Conroy are some of her favorite novelists.

Fun Facts about Ms. Kim
Favorite beverage: tall, non-fat latte
Hometown: Muleshoe, Texas
Past Job: Computer Programmer

Joe Young - 1st Grade Teacher
by Marci Reichelstein


Self-empowerment. That's the "potion" Nixon's newest first grade teacher, Joe Young, invokes to make all his teaching efforts "magic!" Joe's passion is to help his students believe in themselves and become risk-takers. Also, while many espouse the view that students should become independent learners, Joe likes to stress that students should work jointly, as a community, to enjoy the kinship and vitality of "inter-dependent" learning.

"First I endeavor to build an "educational scaffolding" based on a love of learning, then I encourage students to take flight!" says Joe. Using himself as a model, he communicates to children that it's OK to make mistakes - and that even he (the teacher!) craves to be learning throughout his life.

In relation to his students, Joe sees himself in hierarchical roles; first; as a teacher, second; in the caretaker role of a parent, then third; as a friend. While he strives for friendship with his students, he feels he cannot successfully achieve this without first cementing himself in the first two roles.

Joe is just beginning his career as a teacher. He completed his B.S. at U.C. Davis in 2000, majoring in Human Development & Education - and just finished his one-year education credential program there last spring. Personally, Joe loves the great outdoors and participates in rock climbing, snowboarding, mountain biking and playing basketball, tennis, golf and soccer! His more lyric pursuits include playing the guitar and singing (formerly in his high school's gospel choir).

Even for a novice, Joe has gained broad experience with the challenges of teaching at both ends of the socio-economic and academic development spectrum. His experience includes student teaching first grade students in a low performing school in West Sacramento -- as well as in a 5th grade "Gifted & Talented Education" (GATE) class in Davis. In the past three summers Joe has also taught conservation and wildlife to groups of children with a mix of these "levels" at the San Francisco Zoo camp. "The driving force in choosing to teach in Palo Alto was the opportunity to work with these very fortunate students -- so full of life's possibilities".