Award-winning teacher speaks at BGSU

LouAnne Johnson, author of My Posse Don’t Do Homework and Teaching Outside the Box, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 28) in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union Theater. Johnson, whose My Posse book was made into the 1995 film “Dangerous Minds” starring Michelle Pfeiffer, is a nationally acclaimed teacher who previously was an award-winning U.S. Navy journalist and Marine Corps officer.

Her talk, based on her book Muchacho, is part of the Centennial Speakers Series sponsored by the School of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education and Human Development. The program is free and open to educators and the public.  She is also offering a presentation for students at 10 a.m. Friday (Oct. 29) in 101A Olscamp Hall on “Teaching Outside the Box.”

In 1989, Johnson began teaching reading and writing to non-English speakers as an intern at a California high school. Two years later she was appointed department chair of a special program for at-risk teens, which earned accolades for improving self-esteem, student retention and academic achievement of its students.

Johnson, who is an assistant professor of teacher education at Santa Fe Community College, received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in teaching English. Additional books she has written include The Girls in the Back of the Class; School Is Not a Four-Letter Word; Two Parts Textbook, One Part Love; Queen of Education and Muchacho.  Some of her books will be available at her evening presentation. In additional to her numerous speaking engagements, she has appeared on CNN, “Oprah,” CBS “Eye to Eye,” “NBC Weekend Today,” “Maury Povich” and “Tom Snyder.”

For more information about her presentation at BGSU, contact the School of Teaching and Learning, 419-372-7320, stl@bgsu.edu or debrown@bgsu.edu.                                          

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(Posted October 26, 2010 )