Cristina Duarte

·I grew up in San Antonio, Texas.

·I attended David Crockett Elem., Fox Tech High School, San Antonio College and I am currently attending the University of the Incarnate Word.

· I have a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences, M.A. Education and Teaching, and I am a certified teacher.

·I am currently working on my PhD in Organizational Leadership.

·My experience

·I’ve been teaching for 10 Years.

·I have also worked with infants, toddlers, preschool, first grade, junior high but my favorite is 2nd grade.

·My family

·My children: Alexandria 14 years old and Frankie 7 years old.

·My pets: 2 Great Danes, 1 German Shepherd, 1 mixed breed, 2 birds, 3 rabbits, 3 turtles and 2 horses.

 

I want all children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place. Knowledge is not the same as morality, but we need to understand if we are to avoid past mistakes and move in productive directions. An important part of that understanding is knowing who we are and what we can do... (Howard Gardner 1999: 180-181)

The single most important contribution education can make to a child's development is to help him towards a field where his talents best suit him, where he will be satisfied and competent. We've completely lost sight of that. Instead we subject everyone to an education where, if you succeed, you will be best suited to be a college professor... And we evaluate everyone along the way according to whether they meet that narrow standard of success. We should spend less time ranking children and more time helping them identify their natural competencies and gifts, and cultivate those. There are hundreds and hundreds of ways to succeed and many, many different abilities that will help you get there. (Howard Gardner)

We should use kids' positive states to draw them into learning in the domains where they can develop competencies....You learn at your best when you have something you care about and can get pleasure from being engaged in. (Howard Gardner)