A California Teacher's Passion Realized

Venice, California- decided to become a teacher after her college boyfriend was killed in a drunk-driving accident. This tragic event caused a shift in her perspective. Kraft-Watts wanted to measure her own life's work by the lives she would touch. She decided to do something she was passionate about-teaching.

Kraft-Watts teaches 11th grade U.S. History, A.P. Art History and Filmmaking at Venice High School. Because there are 3000 students attending a school built for 2100, one-third of the teachers, including Kraft-Watts, do not have their own classroom.

Now in her seventh year of teaching, Kraft-Watts says she finds Facing History as enlightening now as it was during her novice/probationary year, when she attended a Facing History five-day institute with the theme "The Educator in a Time of Mass Violence"-about a month after the September 11th attacks.

"The most valuable part of the institute was that I was able to cope with my own feelings about the September 11th attacks and gain an understanding of them in a historical context. I also developed ways to teach about this very emotional current event that seemed to be haunting the minds of all of my students," she says.

Of the Facing History resources and unique approach Kraft-Watts says, "Whether we're discussing the Enlightenment, Progressivism and Eugenics, lynching of the 20s, Japanese Internment or the Civil Rights Movement, Facing History has myriad resources for me to pull from. Facing History has helped me fulfill my goal of providing a multicultural curriculum that focuses on social justice. It has also taught me to add a personal component to my lessons where students can reflect on discussions and recognize personal connections to the curriculum. It also brings art, literature and technology into my history classroom."

Kraft-Watts says, "The support from the Facing History staff is remarkable. I've now spent over 80 hours in Facing History seminars and institutes plus several hours with Facing History program associates in my classroom. The staff has helped me develop interdisciplinary lessons as well as literacy strategies. Facing History provides numerous resources for teachers-free of charge. There are not many organizations who are so supportive of teachers."