TCNJ

13 FALL 2019 schoolteacher Judith Winogron '74 and her Math for Educators course with helping them understand more about teaching than anyone else. ElMenshawy: Neither of us are good at math. But remember, we're perfectionists. We spent hours with Professor Winogron after class. Parkhurst: She would tell us, "You are not supposed to be perfect at this." What I loved about her class is she would tell us stories about when she was teaching. She admitted that in her first teaching job, she came home every day and cried. She was very relatable and funny. ElMenshawy: I am very in tune with student emotions, and that was something I learned from Winogron. She could tell when students were shutting down or when they might not be looking up at her but were still listening. Parkhurst: She had strategies to change behavior but always gave the student the benefit of the doubt. ElMenshawy: I like that education is constantly engaging and always evolving. It has a very transforma- tive power. Each person comes into the classroom with their own set of likes, dislikes, and passions. Parkhurst: And there's a responsibility to help students find a voice of their own so they can go out in the world as independent citizens [who] analyze things for themselves. ElMenshawy: Teaching shows you who you are. There's no other environment like this. ■ I let that comment fuel me. It made me want to do better. With my students, I won't be the discourager — I want to find their motivation. The pair started prepping for their careers well before college. Parkhurst: We were friends before we came to TCNJ. We went to different high schools but both went to our district's vocational program at Hunterdon County (New Jersey) Polytech for early education. ElMenshawy: We weren't the target demographic for the program. A lot of people did not want to go to college, they were just there to get a preschool license. Michelle and I gravitated to each other because we were there to explore being a teacher. Parkhurst: I knew from kindergar- ten on that I wanted to be a teacher. I would play school and make mock lesson plans. And as I got older, I didn't want to stop playing school. ElMenshawy: I had three careers: a lawyer because I like to argue, a fashion designer because I like to draw, and a singer. Then my sophomore year of high school, I went to a two-week, future- educators summer program at TCNJ. After that, I was like, "This is what I want to do." They both got into TCNJ, and college only boosted their friendship. A commuter, Amaly commandeered Michelle's dorm room during the day. Michelle, carless as a freshman, loved having a best friend with wheels. Parkhurst: She leaves things in my room. I have a lost-and-found bin in my room labeled "Amaly's things." ElMenshawy: We work well in terms of who needs the limelight and who can have an emotional breakdown. Parkhurst: I get stressed. She helps me balance work and social life. We go shopping together all the time. ElMenshawy: You would think it would be easy to dress Barbie. Parkhurst: That's what she calls me. " In eighth grade, a teacher told me I wouldn't make it in a higher-level history class. I let that comment fuel me. It made me want to do better." —Amaly ElMenshawy ElMenshawy: But she's so picky. I am tapped out by the end of it. But then I will walk by Sephora. Parkhurst: I have to body-block her from going in. She will walk out, her entire arm from wrist to shoulder covered in makeup swatches. ElMenshawy: Not my shoulder, just my elbow. Parkhurst: I have seen it go beyond your elbow. ElMenshawy: I guess she's right. Both credit retired TCNJ education professor and former Trenton

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