Lisa Stringfellow, English

Years in teaching: 24

Year appointed at Winsor: 2015

Winsor courses/levels you teach: Class I and Class II English

Other Winsor activities: (club advisor, coach, dean, class coordinator, etc). Class I Class Co-coordinator, Educational Technology Facilitator, LS Club Advisor (eg. Fiction Writing, Interactive Fiction, Knitting, Harry Potter)

What three words would girls use to describe your teaching style?
Patient, encouraging, creative

How would you describe your relationships with students?
Supportive and caring. I try to listen and offer feedback and encouragement so students feel confident and capable.

Do you have a favorite lesson or project to teach?
The National Novel Writing Month Young Writers Program (NaNoWriMo YWP) is an innovative writing event that challenges K-12 students to write a novel in just 30 days. Students in Class I participate and set their own reasonable, yet challenging, individual word-count goals. During the month, they build skills in writing, self-confidence, creativity, and goal setting.

What do you love about teaching?
Everyday is different with middle schoolers. Teachers have to be flexible and maintain a sense of humor. I love when I learn new things from my students!

What’s the best thing about teaching at Winsor?
Winsor students are engaged and curious. They love reading and writing and have so much enthusiasm for learning. When I discuss books, hands are in the air to share titles they love too.

Is there a lasting lesson you hope girls take from your classes?
I hope students learn that creativity is a skill and not a trait that one has or doesn't have. Just like reading, writing, or any other skill, they can develop it with practice and use it in every subject.

Favorite Winsor tradition?
Spirit Week is very fun! I love the costumes.

Personal passions/hobbies:
I teach students about finding “windows and mirrors” in literature, which is the ability to see themselves reflected in a story and to learn from the experiences of others. More multicultural titles have been published recently, but still only 7% of books for children are published by authors of color. I write middle grade fiction, and I hope to publish my first book in the future.

Favorite quote:
“The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before.” --Neil Gaiman

A quote about writing or anything else we create.