About the Author

Welcome to Mary Rudis’ weblog. The author is a mother and wife who also has enjoyed a teaching career with over 20 years of combined experience in a variety of settings. A lifelong learner with a vivid imagination, creative, and curious, there is no theme to this blog except that it will represent topics that interest me. Stream of consciousness, my mind often wanders from one idea to another in ways that the average reader will find perplexing as to the connections (if any) from one to the next. However, within each blog post I will endeavor to stay on topic and to construct a cohesive, structured presentation of the main idea.

I am rather a nonconformist, idealist and “outside the box” thinker. Unconventional approaches to education, particularly in the K-12 setting, are probably what interest me most, if there is anything that qualifies for that distinction. This kind of thinking has shaped my educational philosophy and perhaps has also had an unexpected impact on my career. My teaching experience includes teaching math in an alternative school. The school is located in Pennsylvania and was one of the pioneers with “restorative justice” principles. I learned of this position through a friend and fellow math teacher who was leaving the school to move on to other things. But I stayed because I believed in what they were about. Read about the restorative justice model here.

Other teaching experiences included a year of homeschooling via the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School. Had we continued to live in that state, I am certain my sons would still be participating in that fine school. At this moment, there is none equivalent to that in our state of Maine. If that changes, I am positioning myself to be a part of it. After receiving a master’s degree, I even taught as an adjunct teacher in Northampton Community College.

When I was ready to go from a part time to a full time job, I went from teaching 60 students to 160 at Lehigh Valley Christian High School. During my time there, I wore many hats. Being only one of two members of the math department had its advantages as well. Henry Crush is a gifted, master teacher who integrates the Christian faith into the classroom. His style and approach gave me much to emulate, and he is a good friend who is dearly missed on a professional level. In addition to math instruction, I was given the task of teaching computer technology and being in charge of the computer lab for students. The school went from a simple peer-to-peer network to a client-server model and increased the number of workstations from a 10-workstation student lab and 5 or 6 working administrative PCs all running Windows 98 to a 20-workstation student lab and a networked computer in every classroom and every administrator’s desk.

Because of this growth in the use of computer technology throughout the school, including computer-based administrative tasks like grade reporting and record keeping, budgeting and strategic planning/development, my title changed from merely math and computer teacher to Technology Coordinator as well as Computer Teacher. In this role, I discovered that very few standards existed for the teaching of computer technology in schools. In the first years, most school administrators believed it sufficient to make certain students were proficient in the use of Office software. As someone who enjoys innovation and progress, I knew this would not be an appropriate model for the 21st century. For guidance, I turned to the Computer Science Teachers Association and a report that was generated regarding the status and future of technology education in our schools.

I discovered that the state of computer science education in our K-12 institutions was way behind what students were experiencing day to day. Receiving supportive approval from my administration, I began changing the way computer science was taught at LVCHS. Slowly it began to transition from mastery of specific applications to a more open-ended approach, giving students the tools necessary to think like a computer scientist and use those tools to solve problems. In addition, I was determined to show students how to use the Web 2.0 experience in a productive, positive, and safe manner. It became clear that our kids are engaged in sophisticated online activities (particularly through their cell phones, PS3 and XBox 360 Live accounts) that the adults in their lives are not even comprehending. I saw it as my duty and obligation to show students the potential dangers of online content and responsible use of it. At the same time, I sought to educate parents with regard to what their kids were doing. But more than that, I sought to engage students to approach the tools they use with a sense of wonder and desire to understand the inner workings. Ask the question “what if…” and “why is it done this way…”.

Of course, my career has taken other roads since then, after we decided to follow a dream of living on the west coast. For almost two years we enjoyed life in a Seattle suburb, the center of city only a 20 minute bus ride from our home. Then, unexpectedly, we had to relocate back east. Coming to New England has proven to be challenging in many ways, most notably my career has hit a brick wall. But I continue to look for opportunities. Forward thinkers and innovators seem to be most likely to succeed as entrepreneurs in this region, since established institutions are not atmospheres for change, or unconventional wisdom. So it may be that I will need to stretch myself even more.

Outside of the education sphere, for example, one of my greatest passions is the outdoors. More specifically I love birds. I don’t currently possess the equipment to be a bona-fide birder, but I can identify some dozen or more bird calls that are common to the east coast US. There are well over 30 species I can identify on sight. Conservation is on my mind a great deal and I regularly keep up with the work of the Hawk Migration Association of North America. This interest began when we regularly visited Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania and has only been paused briefly. I plan to become involved again in the raptor count at Mount Agamenticus. Populations of endangered species such as bald eagle and peregrine falcon, are making progress.

I have sought to instill a love of knowledge in my children. For me, life is a quest to better oneself and the world around us… to live, to grow, and to challenge status quo when it appears to not make sense. Never be afraid of a question, and wait for an answer. And some questions do not have answers. Seek wisdom and grow in faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Nothing can make sense without Him. My children, read the Scriptures, pray, but above all… be courageous and live life to the fullest. Enjoy reading this blog. I have attempted to make it easier to find content of interest to you, the reader. I am open to suggestions for improving ways in which the site can be more interactive and collaborative.