• Laurie Miller
    "I wanted him to know that each of you will begin to be truly human when, in spite of your natural dislike of one another, you still respect one another. That is what it means to be civilized...I shall be watching you in the world."

    -The Human Comedy by William Saroyan
     
     
     
    Laurie Miller

    BS, William Patterson College; MS, College of New Rochelle

    Teaches: SOCRATIC SEMINAR, ADVANCED COMPOSITION

    Laurie credits two teachers she had while she attended high school for inspiring her to choose teaching as a profession. She remembers these teachers believing in her "when no one else did." This is something Laurie has shared with many students in her nearly 31 years teaching at Mid-Peninsula High School.

    Laurie teaches English, Socratic Seminar and Advanced Composition, although she has taught many other courses throughout her tenure at Mid-Peninsula. Appreciating and teaching English comes naturally to Laurie, as writing always came naturally to her. She writes poetry, short stories and songs-something she started doing in high school. She is also an avid reader.

    Laurie believes that her job as a teacher is to give students tools so they can figure out concepts for themselves. She is a teacher of "process" rather than of content. While she may use Shakespeare as a teaching tool, Laurie is more interested in teaching students to analyze the piece rather than to focus solely on the content of the story. Laurie seized the opportunity when chosen by Brown University to participate as one of twelve teachers across the country to be trained as consultants to support Ted Sizer's Coalition of Essential School's philosophy. She believes this took her teaching to a new level.

    In her spare time, Laurie enjoys hiking, swimming, biking and traveling. She prides herself on shopping for "funky" clothes. She has been a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, having grown up in New York.