Kathleen Wells-Morgan

I am a chronic schoolie, who became a teacher when I decided that my first love--being a student--didn't pay well enough. I hold four Master's degrees in several different areas. I am also, and probably always will be, ABD in American Studies at the University of Kansas.

I have worked for a dozen or so years as adjunct faculty in both American Studies and Women's Studies at the post secondary level before settling down to teach high school five years ago. I am lucky to teach at Hickman High School, a three-year high school which is nationally recognized for excellence in secondary education. Hickman has a very diverse student population of about 2,100 and a phenomenal teaching faculty. I love my job, my students, and my teaching partner, Janet Tilley, with whom I will be working on this project. Janet and I teach two sections of American Studies, a two-hour daily block class which integrates a survey of American history and literature with a skills focus on research and writing. I also teach a section of Advanced Placement U.S. history where I try to integrate the American experience myself as I have dual certification in social studies and language arts. This year Janet and I have stressed ourselves to an unusually high level as National Board Certification candidates. Our portfolios are due June 4 and we take our exam July 6. Wish us luck! By July 17 I should be ready to tackle my next big project, so the opportunity to incorporate the American Memories Fellowship experience into my teaching and intellectual life is a dream come true. I am eager to begin to explore the myriad possibilities that the Library of Congress resources offer. While I must confess to a healthy fear of technology and an old-fashioned passion for handling books, this is my idea of fun!

I am married to a medical technologist who does most of the housework so that I can focus on school. I have two teenaged sons--one graduates from Hickman June 5 and the other will join me at school next year as a sophomore. My hobbies include reading, occasional float trips on Missouri's scenic waterways, and cooking. I need to incorporate exercise in there somewhere, so I hope to walk a lot in D.C.

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Janet Tilley

I am a forty-two year old Missouri native and have been teaching for twenty years. I have taught junior high, high school, and college during that time. My parents were voracious readers and taught me to love books and the adventures they give. I would spend my Saturday afternoons deep in the stacks at my local library, and my summers were spent on my porch swing with a good book. Naturally then, I became an English teacher.

Despite watching me spend late nights grading and planning, my husband left the business world and became an elementary school teacher a few years ago. Currently, he is an assistant principal, but he still teaches summer school every year. My two children, a son who is twelve and a daughter who is ten, have grown up knowing that school and education are important aspects of their lives.

Even though I am an English teacher, I have always believed in my heart that I am a frustrated social studies teacher. I love history and the stories that it tells; therefore, history usually becomes a part of any lesson I teach. When I do have time to read, I tend to read biographies about historical figures. Right now I have a book called Dear Bess, a collection of letters Harry Truman wrote to his wife, waiting for me.

In addition to loving history, I also enjoy writing and have published several journal articles and even a piece of poetry. When retirement arrives for me, I have ideas for about three or four books that I would like to write, even if they never find a publisher. Ah! That will have to wait, though, for about another ten years.

Currently, I am finishing my portfolio for National Board Certification in language arts which is due next week. After a six hour exam in early July, the process for certification will be finished. It has been a difficult, yet enlightening experience. I am looking forward to my involvement with the Fellows program this summer and for the next school year. See you in Washington!

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