Going Away

I am starting my PhD in Math Education this Fall at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY.  I’m “the Graduate Assistant” on a grant written by my mentor, Dr. Linda Hutchinson, and my advisor, Dr. Larry Hatfield.   We will be working with all the teachers of math in Thermopolis, WY – trying to improve their effectiveness in teaching math.  I’ve been a very good teacher since I started 10 years ago, and it is my goal to help improve classroom practices.  There is so much excellent research on how to teach math effectively, but it doesn’t generally hit the practice of those already in the classroom.  This grant program lets me to start making an impact immediately and my degree will enable me to continue this work – either through a University program or privately.

 I spent a week with Linda in Thermopolis at the beginning of June.  Our next session is 3 days in mid-August, so I’m moving out there at that time.  While the Missouri Synod is big out there, the chapel on campus is ELCA, so I expect I’ll worship there, at least at the beginning.  I’m still not sure where I’ll be living, but I’m working on it.  My last day at Immanuel will be August 7, which also happens to be my 50^th birthday, so I will be hosting coffee hour and bringing my daughters, M and G.  This fall M will be in her 4^th year of a 5 year program in Occupational Therapy at University Buffalo, and G will be a Freshman in Art School at Herron College (part of IUPUI) in Indianapolis.  We will all be University students at the same time.  We expect M to graduate in 2013, me in 2014, and G in 2015 – a very academic family.

 I could never have accomplished what I’ve done these past few years without the support of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston.  In the lyrics to the show Cheers, “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”  For me that is Immanuel Lutheran Church.

 -Deborah Logan