Ms. Miller has been an ASL teacher at Woodland since last year. She is a graduate of Woodland and East Meadow High School! She spoke with me and shared her experiences as a deaf student.

Q: Why do you want to teach?
A: To educate and give students an opportunity of learning about deaf culture and the deaf community

Q: What experience do you have teaching?
A: I used to teach at a different school for two years before Woodland.

Q: When did you decide you wanted to teach?
A: In college I decided I wanted to teach.

Q: What is a talent you have that other people don’t?
A: I can do sign language because I am deaf .

Q: What subject did you like the most as a kid?
A: I liked math the most as a kid.

Q: What subject did you least like when you were a kid?
A: I didn’t like history as a kid.

Q: What were some challenges you faced as a deaf student?
A: It was challenging being a deaf student especially when learning about new things in school. Being deaf meant I had to work harder than my hearing peers just to be able to follow along in the classroom. I had to remind teachers to face me when talking, which means they couldn’t write on the board while talking at the same time. If they did, I would miss out on what was being said. If the teacher asked the class a question and a student answered, the teacher would have to repeat the answer to make sure I caught that. I can understand best when the room is quiet and one person is talking at a time. Which means the cafeteria was the worst place for me to be able to hear and understand my friends. When Mr. Lethbridge (yes, he was my principal too!) made the morning announcement, I would receive a paper copy so I can read along and have full access to the announcement every morning. I managed just fine. I attended extra help often, especially when I felt lost in class. I had high grades and was a part of the National Junior Honor Society. I was also on the cheerleading team at Woodland.

Q:What is your favorite sport?
A: My favorite sport is cheerleading

Q:Why did you decide to go to a middle school to teach?
A: A spot opened up at Woodland because Mrs.Woo retired.

We are so lucky to have Miss Miller as our teacher!