Paula Boenigk TOK teacher/student
I have been teaching for 39 years. This is my 6th year to teach Theory of Knowledge. I am a student of life. As teachers we must continually strive to be open and accepting of new ideas. We must look for many possible solutions to questions. Sometimes the correct response is to ask more questions. My students are definitely sharper and more capable at learning new concepts than I am. I offer them the lessons of maturity while they offer me the energy of youth.
I grew up in Evansville Indiana in a middle class home with three siblings . I was a first generation college graduate. My parents offered me the example of a tremendous work ethic. My maternal grandmother lived with us. She was a woman of few words. She was an incredible craftsman. She designed and made our clothes. She was and still is the best cook of my life. I learned so much washing the dishes after her meals. Everything she made or cooked testified to the fact that she was a true artisan. She rarely sat down in a chair. When she did sit, she worked on her hand stitching and mending or she was reading her Bible.
The other artists in our home were my father the storyteller and my mother the singer. Dad was a railroad brakeman, a butcher, a truck driver, and a Justice of the Peace. My mother was a hair dresser and a kindergarten assistant. My mother taught me to read before kindergarten. I thought for many years that reading was truly my only real talent/skill. I loved books. Eventually my love for reading became a love of stories and characters. I began acting in the third grade. My love of theater led me to college and eventually the classroom.
I grew up in Evansville Indiana in a middle class home with three siblings . I was a first generation college graduate. My parents offered me the example of a tremendous work ethic. My maternal grandmother lived with us. She was a woman of few words. She was an incredible craftsman. She designed and made our clothes. She was and still is the best cook of my life. I learned so much washing the dishes after her meals. Everything she made or cooked testified to the fact that she was a true artisan. She rarely sat down in a chair. When she did sit, she worked on her hand stitching and mending or she was reading her Bible.
The other artists in our home were my father the storyteller and my mother the singer. Dad was a railroad brakeman, a butcher, a truck driver, and a Justice of the Peace. My mother was a hair dresser and a kindergarten assistant. My mother taught me to read before kindergarten. I thought for many years that reading was truly my only real talent/skill. I loved books. Eventually my love for reading became a love of stories and characters. I began acting in the third grade. My love of theater led me to college and eventually the classroom.