Jana Sanders
Professor, College of Education
Department of Teacher Education
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
ECDC 207
6300 Ocean Dr. Unit 5818
Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5818
(361) 825-3328
jana.sanders@tamucc.edu
"It's my job to find the passion, to open eyes and weave a web of intrigue and surprise."
– Ginny Stiles
"To love what you do and feel that it matters-how could anything be more fun?"
– Katherine Graham
Biography
I am married to Brad Sanders and we have two sons, Evan and Ryan. Brad works for the Texas Dept. of Transportation. I taught children in the public schools for eight years. The ages of my teaching experiences ranged from preschool to middle school gifted & talented students. In 2004 I was selected as the Texas Early Childhood Teacher Educator of the Year. It was indeed an honor!
The professional organizations to which I belong include:
National Association for the Education of Young Children;
National Assoc. of Early Childhood Teacher Educators;
Texas Association for the Education of Young Children;
Bay Area Association for the Education of Young Children (vice-president for advocacy);
Texas Assoc. of Early Childhood Teacher Educators;
Texas Association for the Education of Young Children;
Association for Childhood Education International;
Texas Association for Childhood Education International;
Research Interests:
Integration of multicultural education into the early childhood and elementary classroom
My guiding beliefs for education include:
Patty Smith-Hill, an early childhood education leader, believed that teachers of teachers are twice blessed. I believe she meant that teacher educators are first blessed by the interactions they have with their students. The second blessing comes from those students interacting with young children, whom I will never meet, receiving the best education possible.
It is my firm belief that children, all children, deserve the very best prepared teachers! My courses are demanding and I may give some difficult exams because those children, I may never encounter, deserve my students to be the very teachers they can be.
I believe learning is an active process. That means that even adults must be active in order to learn!
I expect students to actively participate in my classes and may insist that they participate in discussions, demonstrations, and group work.
Finally, I believe that the process of learning and teaching should be enjoyable.
According to Elizabeth Jones, "Good teachers are playful; they don't take themselves too seriously." I agree, and always enjoy teaching Early Childhood Education classes!