Steven Katz

*This is the third post in this series. All of the 21st Century Pygmalion posts are here.

This is a short bio of Dr. Tibbie Lynch, written by her husband, Harry Grzelewski, who also happens to be the high school principal. I should note that Tibbie, Hary and I are very good friends. We enjoy talking about educational issues and pedagogical improvements. We have collaborated many times over the past three years, all with the goal of improving our effectiveness as educators. This is the first time any of us have blogged about any of these experiences.

Dr. Tibbie Lynch, 60, has been an educator for over 30 years, first at the college level and then in independent high schools in the United States and Latin America. She has published articles on Ralph Waldo Emerson, H.G. Wells, Evelyn Waugh, and Walt Whitman when she was a professor and scholar at Texas A M and the University of Hawaii. As a high school teacher she has taught all grade levels and, relying on her knowledge and love of history, helped develop curriculum for several integrated studies courses, most notably American Studies. She joined a group of teachers interested in critical thinking and participated in the development of a curriculum for teaching students how to think about literature. Her experience led to her being invited to help teach other instructors how to re-tool favorite lesson plans into critical thinking activities. An avid reader and writing instructor, she managed the writing workshop as a professor in college, she helped train teachers in the use of a variety of writing rubrics, and has worked with teachers across disciplines to use writing as a tool in classes as diverse as math and physical education. Dr. Lynch has been a fan of pen and paper, and received a $2000 IBM Selectric, self-correcting typewriter from her parents when she received her PhD. She uses the computer as a word processor, to send emails, to shop, and as a news source. She professes to be intimidated by technology, but is convinced that if she can learn how to integrate tech into her classroom, anyone can learn.