“Reading was a foundation of my childhood and stories. We would be skiing and it would be cold. I would want to go into the lodge and so my mother made up gnome stories. We would ride the chairlift. There is a chairlift of Pico mountain, called Knomes Knoll, and there was a big rock on top. I think I read early. Even when I played by myself, I would go sit in the formal living room and it had all these fancy books. I would take them out and I would pretend to read them to an audience.
“We spent a lot of time in Vermont and there weren’t younger kids or camps. I grew up in West Hartford and my parents built a house on a lake in Vermont. My mom was a teacher, so we went up every weekend in the winter and every school vacation. Even though I went to school in West Hartford, Conard High School, I never went to homecoming or things like that because I was always in Vermont. That’s where I met my husband because his second cousins were neighbors of mine.The house is on a dirt road, on a small lake, no motorboats, and it’s quiet. I know everyone there. I know every single person on that lake. We go canoeing and snowshoeing, hiking, swimming, sailing. I feel like I breathe more deeply when I am there. I didn’t want to live [year round] in Vermont because it is my special place. It’s not where I work and it’s not where I pay bills.
“I knew early on that I wanted to be an English major. I started at Syracuse and weirdly I couldn’t get into any English classes. They were all closed out. I thought I wanted to go to a large university. I thought I would have a lot of choices because I considered going into nursing even though I’m not a math or science person. If you go to a large university you’re not allowed to try a class, like in the nursing program. I didn’t know that. All my classes had hundreds of people in them. They were all lectures. That’s just not how I learn.
“I transferred as a junior to Mount Holyoke College. I remember seeing an advertisement in the school newspaper. It said ‘Interested in secondary education certification see Jeff Klaus.’ I remember it word for word. I have never looked back. I immediately added a minor in psychology and education. I basically had to do a full English major in three semesters. My last semester, senior year, was almost all student teaching. Teaching is the only thing I have ever done, except for working at ice cream places. I haven’t had any other job.
“It almost feels like I didn’t choose it. I saw that advertisement and I just knew it. I like high school and I love my schedule now. I have taught everything; vocational English, freshman, seniors, sophomores. I like my freshmen because they are fun and we do hands-on activities. My seniors are like grown ups. I am learning from you. I could probably teach anything. It’s just my thing.”
