Kristine Van Dusen - Middle School Humanities Teacher
Why did you decide to become a teacher, and what do you like most about teaching?
I decided to become a teacher after first pursuing a career in children's television, where I worked as a writer and producer on animated series including The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Mona the Vampire, and Caillou, and then raising a family. I really only discovered I wanted to be a teacher by becoming a student again, when I went to grad school to study English literature. It was during a teaching practicum that I first experienced that "aha!" moment where a light bulb switches on inside a student's head and they become excited to share the new ideas dancing around in there. I knew then that I wanted to witness that moment over and over. So I guess you could say I only decided to become a teacher by teaching! To me, one of the best things about teaching is that it can be a two-way street and some of the greatest moments in teaching come when my students teach me.
Where did you teach before you came to Wornick?
Just prior to teaching at Wornick, I was a humanities teacher at Fusion Academy Berkeley. I taught English, History, and French to students in grades 6-12. Before that I taught composition to freshmen college students and tutored reading and writing at San Francisco State University. I've also had a lot of different writing jobs over the years as a TV screenwriter, editor, and translator, a freelance blogger, a book reviewer, a research writer, and a business writer. Probably the weirdest writing job I ever had was translating a French cartoon called "Potatoes and Dragons." It was about potatoes...and dragons.
What subjects and grades do you teach at Wornick? Do you have any favorite projects/units?
I teach English Language Arts to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. My favorite projects tend to be the ones that the students seem most inspired by. I love seeing them really sink their teeth into a challenge. A highlight in 6th grade this year has been observing the growth of their individual writers' voices especially with their essays on The Giver. Our class discussions on that novel were so animated and thoughtful and it was great seeing that come across in their writing. Guiding 7th graders as they learned to harness their powers of persuasion to convince the community to donate to causes near and dear to their hearts with their Tzedakah Project essays was also incredibly rewarding. In 8th grade, the whole of our unit devoted to Elie Wiesel's Holocaust memoir Night was a profound and deeply moving experience, particularly the students' final projects where they interviewed family members, researched survivors, and created artistic response pieces, all around the theme of bearing witness. They approached this difficult subject matter with sensitivity, creativity, and care, demonstrating a maturity that reinforced my belief in the power of literature to foster both empathy and understanding.
What do you think makes Wornick special? What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Wornick is such a caring and supportive community. As a new teacher, I've been overwhelmed by the warm welcome I've received from everyone — staff, parents, and students alike. Colleagues have generously shared resources, offered guidance, and just generally been there for my million and one questions. This culture of kindness and support makes Wornick truly special. The most rewarding parts of my job are collaboration and connection with colleagues, community members, and students at every level. These relationships and interactions remind me daily why I chose to teach at Wornick.
What lessons/skills do you hope students will take with them as they graduate?
I hope my students will leave Wornick as effective, confident communicators with a strong sense of their own voices as writers and thinkers. I want them to recognize that there is a value to their unique, individual expression that technology simply cannot reproduce. Above all, I hope they understand that writing is thinking — a process that clarifies and deepens their understanding of themselves and the world around them. I hope they will appreciate the power of language, both their own and others, to delight, to inform, to persuade, and ultimately, to change the world.
What are some of your hobbies and interests?
This is no doubt unsurprising for an English teacher, but I really, really do love books and reading! Curled up with a good book, and my cat Apollo, is where you're most likely to find me when I have free time. My favorite writer is the 19th century British woman novelist George Eliot -- I have a plush Dodo in my classroom named Dorothea in honor of one of her characters -- but I love novels, poetry, and short stories from all times and places. When I'm not reading, I love going for long walks with my husband and our dog Byron (named after the 18th-Century poet Lord Byron). I have two grown up children who both live in Vancouver, Canada who I try to spend time with whenever I can.
