My Learning Story
Sonia Woodbury
Salt Lake City, UT
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After a somewhat rocky start in elementary school I had a life changing experience in Mr. Riggs¿ 5th grade classroom. He taught the math & science part of that year¿s curriculum. What I remember is how my love of learning, particularly learning math and science, grew that year. Mr. Riggs had a way of sucking us into the ideas he was trying to teach in ways that made it so we had to learn more. I even realized I could be good at those subjects that year. Formerly a math and dance teacher in the public secondary schools, I am now the director of City Academy, a secondary charter school in downtown Salt Lake City. I realize there were a small handful of amazing teachers who influenced my love of learning and my path to where I am now. My social studies teacher in junior high, Mrs. Yahtze, my dance teacher Medora, and in high school my US History teacher Mr. Wolf, my calculus teacher, Mrs. Hogan, and my French teacher, Mme. Spidell. I was also very fortunate to have the example of my mother who was a Chemistry professor and my best mentor and role model for good teaching. Twelve years ago as we wrote the charter for our school, an important part of the vision in that document was nurturing a place for teachers to share their passion and knowledge in meaningful ways so that each of our students would leave high school with the idea that learning matters and learning is fun forever.