Karen touched so many lives. Some refer to it as " magical fairy dust". She was an amazing woman, mother, wife, teacher and friend. As friends of the family, we would like to create a storybook of her life in order to capture some of the "magic" she gave all of us who had the pleasure of knowing her.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Impact as a Teacher
Please share your favorite story of Karen and how she has impacted your life. Along with the story, please mention the school you attended where Karen was your teacher.
Some of my favorite memories of Karen at Crest were actually times when I got in trouble with Karen! One particular time that comes to mind was when my friends and I decided to spend our lunch, in the middle of January, skinny dipping in Lake Washington. We came back to Crest late, having missed half of math class and Karen found us in the bathroom. Let's just say, she wasn't too thrilled to find four girls soggy and laughing in the bathroom. Getting in trouble with Karen was like getting in trouble with mom. You knew you were really going to get it, but "getting it" didn't mean detention or staying after school. It meant having a confrontation with someone who loves you and wants to set you on the right track for the good of your own being. It also meant having a little fun provoking your teacher!! Ultimately, though, we all ended up making positive changes in our lives and finding ourselves in good places and I think so much of that was made possible by the love of this wonderful woman!
It's hard to choose a place to post stories about Karen, because she greatly influenced my life as a teacher as well as being a wonderful friend. When I visited her a few weeks ago, she told me she didn't want any sadness, just to celebrate our connection. What a beautiful way of saying it.
Three + years ago, when I was pregnant with my twin girls, I ended up in the hospital because one of them was having heart problems (Ironically, I was in the same Cardiology floor of the UW hospital that Karen was just on!). Karen came to the rescue and took over most of my classes for the rest of the year. And, then for the next year so I could stay home with the girls.... and then, for the next year. This fall, the plan was for Karen to go down to part-time and for me to come back part-time - - to job share. I'm so sad that we didn't get to try it out! Oh, how I looked forward to sharing kids, teaching, ideas with Karen!
The biggest thing I have learned from Karen is to really see each student. When kids come into her classroom, she asks them about their weekend or their siblings or notices a new sweater or new jewelry. She takes time to really build connections. She alsways made me feel special, too! I love thinking of her, turning in her chair as I walk in the room and saying, "So. What's new?" And, whether it's a mellow day or something really hard has just happened, Karen would always have insights and take the time to hear me.
Although our interactions have been few, your impact has been great. I have experienced Karen through many forms. I have lived/worked within her creation of Crest and her presence very much lives on within the walls, air, soil, and culture of the community she created and invested into for so many years. I also worked with and had many conversations with Michael, who so clearly has been shaped by Karen. Every single conversation with Michael included Karen's name. I have also shared times with Karen, always over food (potluck) and friends and her presence is clearly felt. My family felt the warmth and easy connection. I can only hope to impact so many lives in a such a positive way. Mark Roschy
whenever i see sandals worn over socks, i think of karen. not simply because she happened to sport this particular look when i was her student, but because when i first started at contract in 1990 i was such a wreck that the only place i felt safe was literally under her desk. i think what made it feel especially safe was that, while many folks might not have tolerated such behavior, karen just let me be there. karen always just "let me be" whoever i needed to be, and her unconditional acceptance created in me a sense of security without which i may have remained rather timid in the world. somehow, by allowing me to crawl into that tiny space at her feet until i was ready to emerge, karen set me free. a few months ago she sent me a note including comments about how the recent events of bullying had caused her to think of me, and how brave she thought i was for coming out at seventeen. twenty years after the fact her support still brought tears to my eyes. it's not that hard to be brave when you've got someone like karen at your back. in all the years since, i've always felt her with me in this way; no matter what i was facing, i could feel karen behind me. thank you, karen, for teaching me so much about acceptance and unconditional love. thank you for setting such a beautiful example for me to aspire to emulate. thanks for that spot under your desk and that spot in your heart. thank you for letting me be, and for encouraging me to be exactly who i am. i love you more than i have words to say... -brenda
I knew Karen for 3 years in high school at SAAS. I owe so much of my successes in life to her because if it wasn't for her, I'm pretty sure I would not have graduated (or at least I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed it). Besides having her class, I remember eating lunch in her classroom every single day for those 3 years. Every day, no matter what building I finished my morning in, I would somehow manage to make it to her room. She was more than a teacher and a friend. She was so much of the soul of SAAS. As I have heard other people say, she was truly an angel among us. Her smile was infectious and her genuine sweet nature was overwhelming. She inspired me to try to inspire other people. People only hope to meet someone like Karen in their lifetime. And the fact that I had so much time with her makes me eternally blessed. I love you, Karen. So much. You will forever be remembered in the minds and hearts of the tons of people whose lives you touched! - Erin Wright
Karen taught me to lead with my heart in my teaching. She did this every day, with every student she worked with, and I can only aspire to grow in her direction. Whenever I had utterly lost patience with a student, it was Karen I relied to to talk me back to compassion--sometimes by means of closing the door and having a gripe session to get that out of our systems (accompanied by lots of laughter). She was my Good Witch of the East.
I only knew Karen for a short time, but when I came to SAAS to fill part of her job description, it was clear to me that she could never be replaced. She left a legacy of caring and deep wisdom. We met and talked about students, about life. We laughed. She made me know that SAAS was an amazing place where faculty and students did the impossible and that I was lucky to be part of it all. For too short a time, she was my teacher. I am grateful for that time.
I was a student of Karen and Michael for my senior year (1975) at Contract High School. School had become so boring for me that I was in danger of checking out.
There I found the environment I had been looking for, and smart, compassionate and present teachers - in every sense of all these words.
I recall so much kindness and caring demonstrated by Karen in every single interaction with me or with ANYONE. For a teen, it was remarkable to see - yet now over 35 years later, I realize how few people we meet that are 'Karen' special. You remember them for the length and breadth of your life here on earth.
Karen had immense power and used it in the most empowering ways possible. She is the one teacher that I most treasure - the one that LIVED her calling.
How fortunate we are who knew her. - Gordon Currie
Some of my favorite memories of Karen at Crest were actually times when I got in trouble with Karen! One particular time that comes to mind was when my friends and I decided to spend our lunch, in the middle of January, skinny dipping in Lake Washington. We came back to Crest late, having missed half of math class and Karen found us in the bathroom. Let's just say, she wasn't too thrilled to find four girls soggy and laughing in the bathroom. Getting in trouble with Karen was like getting in trouble with mom. You knew you were really going to get it, but "getting it" didn't mean detention or staying after school. It meant having a confrontation with someone who loves you and wants to set you on the right track for the good of your own being. It also meant having a little fun provoking your teacher!! Ultimately, though, we all ended up making positive changes in our lives and finding ourselves in good places and I think so much of that was made possible by the love of this wonderful woman!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to choose a place to post stories about Karen, because she greatly influenced my life as a teacher as well as being a wonderful friend. When I visited her a few weeks ago, she told me she didn't want any sadness, just to celebrate our connection. What a beautiful way of saying it.
ReplyDeleteThree + years ago, when I was pregnant with my twin girls, I ended up in the hospital because one of them was having heart problems (Ironically, I was in the same Cardiology floor of the UW hospital that Karen was just on!). Karen came to the rescue and took over most of my classes for the rest of the year. And, then for the next year so I could stay home with the girls.... and then, for the next year. This fall, the plan was for Karen to go down to part-time and for me to come back part-time - - to job share. I'm so sad that we didn't get to try it out! Oh, how I looked forward to sharing kids, teaching, ideas with Karen!
The biggest thing I have learned from Karen is to really see each student. When kids come into her classroom, she asks them about their weekend or their siblings or notices a new sweater or new jewelry. She takes time to really build connections. She alsways made me feel special, too! I love thinking of her, turning in her chair as I walk in the room and saying, "So. What's new?" And, whether it's a mellow day or something really hard has just happened, Karen would always have insights and take the time to hear me.
Love you, Karen. Thank you for being so amazing.
Although our interactions have been few, your impact has been great. I have experienced Karen through many forms. I have lived/worked within her creation of Crest and her presence very much lives on within the walls, air, soil, and culture of the community she created and invested into for so many years. I also worked with and had many conversations with Michael, who so clearly has been shaped by Karen. Every single conversation with Michael included Karen's name. I have also shared times with Karen, always over food (potluck) and friends and her presence is clearly felt. My family felt the warmth and easy connection. I can only hope to impact so many lives in a such a positive way. Mark Roschy
ReplyDeletewhenever i see sandals worn over socks, i think of karen. not simply because she happened to sport this particular look when i was her student, but because when i first started at contract in 1990 i was such a wreck that the only place i felt safe was literally under her desk. i think what made it feel especially safe was that, while many folks might not have tolerated such behavior, karen just let me be there. karen always just "let me be" whoever i needed to be, and her unconditional acceptance created in me a sense of security without which i may have remained rather timid in the world. somehow, by allowing me to crawl into that tiny space at her feet until i was ready to emerge, karen set me free.
ReplyDeletea few months ago she sent me a note including comments about how the recent events of bullying had caused her to think of me, and how brave she thought i was for coming out at seventeen. twenty years after the fact her support still brought tears to my eyes. it's not that hard to be brave when you've got someone like karen at your back. in all the years since, i've always felt her with me in this way; no matter what i was facing, i could feel karen behind me.
thank you, karen, for teaching me so much about acceptance and unconditional love. thank you for setting such a beautiful example for me to aspire to emulate. thanks for that spot under your desk and that spot in your heart. thank you for letting me be, and for encouraging me to be exactly who i am. i love you more than i have words to say... -brenda
I knew Karen for 3 years in high school at SAAS. I owe so much of my successes in life to her because if it wasn't for her, I'm pretty sure I would not have graduated (or at least I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed it). Besides having her class, I remember eating lunch in her classroom every single day for those 3 years. Every day, no matter what building I finished my morning in, I would somehow manage to make it to her room. She was more than a teacher and a friend. She was so much of the soul of SAAS. As I have heard other people say, she was truly an angel among us. Her smile was infectious and her genuine sweet nature was overwhelming. She inspired me to try to inspire other people. People only hope to meet someone like Karen in their lifetime. And the fact that I had so much time with her makes me eternally blessed. I love you, Karen. So much. You will forever be remembered in the minds and hearts of the tons of people whose lives you touched! - Erin Wright
ReplyDeleteKaren taught me to lead with my heart in my teaching. She did this every day, with every student she worked with, and I can only aspire to grow in her direction. Whenever I had utterly lost patience with a student, it was Karen I relied to to talk me back to compassion--sometimes by means of closing the door and having a gripe session to get that out of our systems (accompanied by lots of laughter). She was my Good Witch of the East.
ReplyDeleteI only knew Karen for a short time, but when I came to SAAS to fill part of her job description, it was clear to me that she could never be replaced. She left a legacy of caring and deep wisdom. We met and talked about students, about life. We laughed. She made me know that SAAS was an amazing place where faculty and students did the impossible and that I was lucky to be part of it all. For too short a time, she was my teacher. I am grateful for that time.
ReplyDeleteI was a student of Karen and Michael for my senior year (1975) at Contract High School. School had become so boring for me that I was in danger of checking out.
ReplyDeleteThere I found the environment I had been looking for, and smart, compassionate and present teachers - in every sense of all these words.
I recall so much kindness and caring demonstrated by Karen in every single interaction with me or with ANYONE. For a teen, it was remarkable to see - yet now over 35 years later, I realize how few people we meet that are 'Karen' special. You remember them for the length and breadth of your life here on earth.
Karen had immense power and used it in the most empowering ways possible. She is the one teacher that I most treasure - the one that LIVED her calling.
How fortunate we are who knew her. - Gordon Currie