All things are connected like the blood that unites us all.
- Chief Seattle
Rachel first fell in love with teaching and science education in 2001 among the ferns and old growth forests of Oregon as a Field Instructor for the Multnomah County Outdoor School - a nationally recognized model for outdoor science education. It was there that many of her pedagogical beliefs developed as she saw young students experiencing science at its best - student led inquiry studies next to the river, a crop of new inky caps, or carefully carved soil profile.
Rachel later transitioned into the traditional school system to teach at a public school in Portland. At a Leonard Bernstein School of Artful Learning, Rachel spent years integrating arts into her science classroom using the Artful Learning model of Experience - Inquire - Create - Reflect. When Portland Public Schools adopted Issues and Science Rachel was initially livid and felt that her district had betrayed its gifted and creative teachers with a scripted program. But that didn't last - two months into the program the results were clear and her students were engaged at a level that allowed Rachel to take them further than she ever had in her 12 years in the classroom.
When Rachel and her family relocated out of state she was so committed to the Lab-Aids programs and their potential to transform the science classroom that she asked to work for the company, first as a curriculum consultant and trainer, then in sales, and now in marketing.
Rachel graduated with honors from the University of Redlands with a BA in Environmental Ethics and earned her Masters in Teaching from Pacific University. She is a proud native of Portland, Oregon - her home base for many years of world travel, fun adventures, and strong family roots. Rachel now lives with her family in Riverside, California.
rporter@lab-aidsdotcom*
617.297.2913
@rachelgeneve
Rachel Porter
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