Introducing Jacob Jonas-Closs, student teacher

November 22, 2010

Dear parents and guardians of Explorers and Resistance Daily 1 students,

Hello! My name is Jacob Jonas-Closs. I have been observing and interacting in
your student’s classroom since the beginning of the school year. I have very much
enjoyed watching them learn and grow. Following Thanksgiving Break I will be
working with your students as their primary teacher for the rest of the school year.

I look forward to meeting all of you. For now, I would like to take a bit of space
to introduce myself. I am a student at the Lewis and Clark Graduate School of
Education working toward a Master of Arts in Teaching degree and an Oregon
Teaching License in Middle and High School Social Studies. Prior to entering
graduate school I attended Earlham College, a small Quaker Liberal Arts College
in Indiana, where I received a Bachelors degree in Human Development and Social
Relations, and a minor in both Education and History. After I graduated I was
pretty sure I wanted to teach but wanted to try other jobs before I went back to
school. I spent a year working in Human Services at two group homes, one for
adults with Mental Retardation and another for Children with Autism; I did these
jobs in my hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. During this year I began to apply
for programs and noticed my favorite program was the one offered at Lewis and
Clark, and I had heard that Portland was an excellent city to live in, so decided to
attend this program. I love to teach and learn, and am excited to be making this
journey alongside this great group of students.

To start things off in December we will be analyzing Current struggles of
American Indians before we delve into Celilo Falls in January. Please feel free to
express any of your questions or concerns about this change to Ken and to me, our
contact information is listed below.

I am greatly looking forward to working with this group of students!

Sincerely,

Jacob Jonas-Closs

jjonascloss@lclark.edu

Ken Gadbow

gadbow@gmail.com