Meet The Community: Washington’s Birthday Edition

Meet The Community: Washington’s Birthday Edition – Amelia Jackson-Zaremba

February 18 2011 by Jake Frodsham in School Section |No Comments

For those of you who have read my previous blog entries, I have mentioned how lucky I am that every day I get to meet and work with interesting and inspiring people as the K¹² Online Community Manager. But because the reasons why families choose online education are as varied as you could imagine, it’s nearly impossible for me to truly explain just how amazing these people are and what makes them so passionate about online learning.

So, in an effort to convey how diverse and inspiring the K¹² family is, I created ‘Meet the K¹² Community’ – a regular blog series that will feature students, learning coaches, teachers, curriculum specialists and anyone else who plays a role in making online education a reality for children world-wide.

Without further adieu, here’s our first introduction…

Since it’s Washington’s Birthday aka President’s Day, let’s meet Amelia Jackson-Zaremba, a K¹² Sr Instructional Designer in History, and find out what made her pursue a career that combines history, education and technology.

What is your background?

I’m a native of Virginia and attended school in Virginia. I earned a B.A. Degree in History and Political Science at Delaware State University, Dover, Delaware.

Professionally my career began as a teacher in the Fredericksburg, VA school system. I’ve been working in the educational field in various roles for approximately 36 years.

What exactly is the role of an Instructional Designer at K¹²?

Instructional designers develop and deliver lesson modules that use sound instructional strategies to address specific learning objectives.

How long have you been an Instructional Designer at K¹² and what’s the best part of your job?

I’ve been working for K¹² for 10 years, 1 month, and 9 days and the best part of my job is designing fun and challenging activities for our students.

How and when did you discover you loved history so much that it led to your career path?

I discovered that I loved history at a very early age. My parents had a beautifully illustrated Bible. In the Bible there were accounts of historical events written in the form of stories. My mother would read these stories to me, and later I would look at the pictures and tell the story in my own words Once I learned to read, I would spend hours reading these stories and as I grew older I would read them to my siblings. I grew to love reading about other historical events.

All through school I was able to see the STORY in history and by the time I got to college, I knew that history would be my main course of study. When I graduated college, I became a social studies teacher and also started to explore the technical world and decided to follow career path that could combine both education and technology.

Because education is a life-long endeavor, how do you keep your own education alive?

I subscribe to professional magazines and organizations. I regularly attend professional events and webinars, and of course, I am always discussing current events with my family and friends.

In honor of the holiday, what are some interesting and/or random facts about a few of our well known U.S Presidents?

Congress never combined Lincolns and Washingtons birthdays to create ‘President’s Day’. It is still officially called Washingtons Birthday.
Contrary to popular belief George Washington’s teeth were not made of wood – One set of teeth used a cow’s tooth, one of Washington’s own teeth, hippopotamus ivory, metal and springs.
It is said that one week before he died, President Lincoln dreamt of his own death having looked in a coffin and saw his own face.
Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president standing 64″; James Madison was the shortest at 54″

Keeping with the theme, what is an interesting or unusual fact about you?

In my home town, very few people know my real name. Most know me by the name of “Busy.” I’ve had that nickname for as long as I can remember. I asked my mom how I got that name and she said I was always busy doing something as a toddler. The name has stuck because I’m always busy doing something.

Can you share some resources we can use to get more information/facts about US Presidents?

Welcome to a Lincoln Library
Mount Vernon
The White House

There you have it – our first introduction in the ‘Meet the K¹² Community’ series.

I plan to introduce you to people and families from all walks of life, from around the world and all over K¹² to find out how online education became a part of their lives – see how lucky I am?

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