Ms. Barb Park
Personal Profile
As a child I was so shy I hid under furniture when company arrived: under furniture, behind drapes, in the closet. Yet for as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a teacher. After many years in the profession, I still want to be a teacher. Only as a teacher can I bring together so many of my interests: people, books, learning, laughing. And besides, teenagers are heartbreakingly wonderful. When they get too much, I can say the day is over and enjoy adult time with friends and family.
Professional Profile
I attended Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, to earn my BA, graduating in 1970 with a major in Russian and a minor in English. That same year I completed my secondary education credentials at Oklahoma State University. In 1986 I completed work in the study of reading and earned an MAT from Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Concordia University, River Forest campus, provided me with the opportunity to study curriculum, instruction and educational leadership in a number of graduate classes in the1990’s. In 1991, I joined the Timothy faculty, where I now teach upper English classes.
Philosophical Profile
Because in Him we live, and move, and have our beings, we cannot study God’s creation without God, Himself, being an important part of that study. Like an artist can be recognized by his style, so reality can be recognized by the traits of its Maker. But really, the truth is exactly the other way round: God made reality, and it is His traits in the artist that give the artist style. So in language, the ability to communicate given us by God, can we find the order, variety, beauty, and meaning that ultimately exist in God Himself.