About The Teacher

NAME: Melanie Jacobson

SCHOOL: San Marcos High School (Santa Barbara)

CLASS: World History (10th grade)

SCHOOL PHONE: (805) 967-4581 ext. 413

About the Teacher

I've taught history classes at San Marcos High since 1993, and for five 
years in Orange County before moving here. I was born and raised in San 
Diego, earned my degree at University of California at Irvine, and am happy 
now to live in Santa Barbara. When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time 
with my husband and two children. Music is one of my passions; I sing with 
the Santa Barbara Quire of Voyces.

TEACHING AWARDS:

   Venoco Crystal Apple (South County Secondary Teacher) Award (2004)
   Santa Barbara Anti-Defamation League Educator Award (2003)
   UCSB History Associates (K-12 Teacher) Award (2001)
   Girsch Teaching Tolerance Award (1999)
   SBSD Mentor Teacher (1997-1999)
   Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Special Recognition (1997)
   PTSA Royal Award (1997)	
   Immaculate Heart College Global Teaching Award (1993)
	
FELLOWSHIPS

   California History-Social Science Project Teacher Leader (UCSB, 1997-2004)
   South Coast Writing Project Returning Fellow (UCSB, 1996)
   National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow (UCSB, 1995)
   California History/Social Science Project Fellow (CalState Pomona, 1993) 
   California Writing Project Fellow (UC Irvine, 1991)

Investigating the Past

My aim is to bring history alive in the classroom, and to help make 
personal connections between the past and our lives. To accomplish this, 
class activities and projects are interactive, varied, and at times inter-
generational. Students engage in course material through oral history 
interviews, simulations, primary document analysis, debates, individual and 
collaborative research, field trips, and guest speakers. My teaching 
approach is thematic and interdisciplinary: art, music, and literature 
enrich and expand our understanding of humanity across time and place.