Mrs. Swank

Photo:
IMG_0249.jpg (16KB) MyPicture.jpg (9KB)

About The Teacher Label:


About The Teacher
My name is Jeanette Swank. I am originally from the great state of New Jersey and attended college at Bloomsburg University located in Pennsylvania. I majored in elementary education with a minor in Spanish. In addition, I took the Praxis and am certified in middle school English. I just completed my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I taught Spanish in Baltimore County for five years and have been teaching at Wilde Lake for three year (this is my fourth year). I am the 7th grade team leader.

Mission Label:


Mission
My mission for my 7th grade English classes is for students to gain appreciation for various genres of literature, to develop effective writing habits, and to inspire them to love learning. The extermination of over 6 million Jews during the Holocaust shook the world a thousand times over. People from every corner of the globe, who felt slapped in the face by the atrocities that were committed in Europe, vowed to never allow it to happen again. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter said that "we must forge an unshakable oath with all civilized people that never again will the world stand silent, never again will the world fail to act in time to prevent this terrible crime of genocide." Only five years later, Ronald Reagan vowed, "Like you, I say in a forthright voice, 'Never again!'" George Bush Sr. also gave the creed his support, saying that he possessed "the determination, not just to remember, but also to act." President after President voiced his promise that the United States would never forget. Even Clinton voiced his resolve, declaring that "if the horrors of the Holocaust taught us anything...it is the high cost of remaining silent and paralyzed in the face of genocide." Did we learn our lesson? Did we keep our promises? Ask the victims of the genocides in Cambodia (1975), Iraq (1987), Bosnia (1992), Rwanda (1994), Kosovo (1998), and several others. Why does this promise seem to be the easiest to make and yet the hardest to keep?