Meet Miss Morton!

ARE yOU READY TO ROCK????

In 2018, I earned my BFA in Musical Theatre with a minor in dance performance from Oakland University. I then moved to New York City, and was gifted the wonderful opportunity to explore the world on a cruise ship as a singer and dancer. I saw 6 of the 7 continents, and I loved and cherished every moment of my adventures.

In 2020, my life life turned upside down, and my career ended overnight. I was stranded at sea for 30 days aboard a cruise ship, and knew that I had to pivot to find a new life. During my travels, I tended to gravitate towards the museums and children of the countries I saw. During the Pandemic, I began a “No Fear Shakespeare” club for the guests onboard. I thought, “Maybe I could follow in the footsteps of my grandmother and mother- and become a teacher!” I immediately enrolled in Oakland University’s Masters in the Arts of Teaching Elementary Education Program, and thus began my new life.

Given, my theatrical background, I firmly believe that teaching a class is akin to writing a “One-Woman-Show”: one must grab the attention of the audience (the students) and keep the attention with exciting material and jokes. I pride myself in bringing a theatrical flair to every lesson. Whether it be dramatically reading Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Raven”, or incorporating music into the classroom whilst sharpening her student’s use of figurative language. Miss Morton is FAR from BORING.

“Thank you for making this classroom FUN!!” -6th Grade Student

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY:

I strongly believe that every student is reachable, even if one has to go out of their way to connect to that student. I pride myself on developing an emotional teacher/student connection with every student.  The first week and a half of classroom instruction is my relationship and community building. I believe (through proven research) that forming a connection with the students and having the other students form connections and become familiar with one another is beneficial in the long run. This way, students will be less hesitant to share their thinking, have fish bowl discussions, and overall, be themselves in the classroom.

PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS:

I worked for a high GPA of 3.9 in my graduate studies, whilst balancing three jobs: a substitute teacher, a dance teacher, and full-time student. I won the “Why I Substitute Teach” award through EduStaff in 2022. I was also a recipient of the Alumnae Association Scholarship from Oakland University for 2022-2023. In addition to that, I was nominated to receive the Student Teaching Award of 2022-2023 through the university. This was a highly distinguished award, and was awarded to one Elementary Education Student in the program at OU. Besides my awards , the greatest achievement is seeing all of my student’s faces light up when they finally understand a standard they have been struggling with.

“I like the way Miss M. makes sure that even the kids who are distracted know what is going on.” -6th Grade Student