Every person has an interesting story, if you are willing to listen. It is a story of hopes, dreams, motivations and struggles. There is also dignity and nobility to be found in each person’s life story, if you are able to be empathetic. In Kimberly Arnold’s classes, there is always excitement in each story, and an empathetic teacher who is eager to listen to each of her students.
For Ms. Arnold, literature offers its readers exciting stories from around the world. Some of the stories may be fiction. But they all contain new personalities for students to meet and understand. Ms. Arnold’s goal is to help students relate to personalities of all kinds, and think critically about their own role in a diverse society.
Creativity is a hallmark of Ms. Arnold’s teaching style and forms of artistic expression. Her art includes the fields of photography, printmaking, sculpture, and others. In class, her teaching creatively communicates even difficult concepts in a form to which students can personally connect. During her 10-year teaching career, she has empowered students to recognize the dignity of their own stories, and the validity of their own thoughts and ideas.
Ms. Arnold’s passion for teaching and for her students was recognized when she became a National Board Certified English Teacher. She is also a consultant for the National Writing Project, encouraging the professional development of teachers as skilled instructors of writing skills. Her numerous teaching assignments have included teaching English at the middle and high school levels, Critical Thinking, Reading, and a variety of Studio Art classes.
Ms. Arnold earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art with a concentration in Printmaking and Photography from Florida State University. She also attended the University of Central Florida to continue her study of English.
