Carol Prettyman

This is who I am…

I grew up in the Midwest and the southwest where my parents were pastors of pioneered and home-missions churches.  That makes me a P.K.  I’m happy to report that my Midwestern values still guide me.  During college at SCC,  my happiest event was meeting my husband and best friend, Ken, pictured with me here for our 40th anniversary.  Our early ministry years were centered on music and youth leadership, with me leading the children’s choirs.  Eventualy, Ken and I launched our own music ministry called Gentle Witness Ministries and enjoyed traveling and singing throughout much of our nation, before embarking on careers in education.

After our two children were school age, Peter Jon and Anna Noelle, now an attorney and an educator, I began a rich experiential career in public education teaching several cultural groups of non-English speaking children in a low-socioeconomic school district in California.  Throughout my years there, with God’s blessing and sound instructional process, all but one of my young students were able to leave my classroom being able to speak English and write it to read it, out of their own thinking. During several summers I oversaw a food program for impoverished children and their mothers.  Enjoyably, within this total time of ministry in education and in the church, we engaged ourselves in community outreaches involving musical performances to support local functions.  Prior to coming to Northwest University, I taught elementary education methods courses at Trinity Bible College in North Dakota, where I also placed and supervised student teachers in area schools.

In the year 2000, I was pleased to become a member of the Northwest University School of Education faculty, and have delighted in the process of supporting student teachers on the threshold of professional careers.  It is my joy to help teacher candidates in their practicum process to develop professional accountability that grows from the heart…to the head…and out through the hands.

Interests and Activities…

  • I love anything having to do with my grandson.  When I am with him, we love to enjoy books, throw balls, swing, go for walks, and make up songs about anything relevant to our immediate experience.
  • Ken and I love the exercise and creative process involved in our terraced hill, half acre garden.
  • We love to walk in the evenings, talking together and observing the world around us…most enjoyably, the sights and sounds of nature.
  • We love excellent music of the past and present, especially from American origin.  Last year I got to be guest soloist for my husband’s Pops Concert.
  • I thoroughly enjoy researching and writing many instructionally and foundationally supportive materials for my student teachers.
  • Organizations dear to our hearts are: church missionaries; area Missions for the homeless; Kiva, an organization to help third world entrepreneurs create a better life; Hillcrest Children’s Home; Puppies Behind Bars, a program to help convicts learn responsibility, compassion, and purpose, while giving back to the community; and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Recommended Reading…

  • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exuprey:  Because…in life there are many, many questions…and how you approach them and whom you trust with them, has great consequence.
  • The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson (the original text, please…not an abridged version!):  Because…it doesn’t matter if you were born in a duck’s nest.  What matters…is that you become who you were created to be.
  • The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (the original test, please):  Because… “…you ‘become’ and it takes a long time.  That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.”
  • Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse:  Because…it is valuable to awaken a sense of comprehension and curiosity regarding historical events in this nation…and of the people who grew through them.
  • Additionally…numerous pieces of children’s literature in any children’s literature section in any good book store.  Because…so many life lessons are taught through children’s literature, and good literature, in general.
  • Additionally…(and on a grown-up level)… I encourage all teacher candidates to read Reading Essentials by Regie Routman, for comprehending the “heart” of teaching and the importance of authenticity.

Education…

  • Southern California College (now Vanguard University): BA in Humanities with emphasis in Elementary Education
  • Northern State University: Masters of Science in Education / Classroom Teaching
  • Life experience (The greatest educator.)

Professional Memberships…

  • Choice Literacy:  A weekly journal of teaching strategies and teacher experiences regarding literacy process for elementary children.
  • ASCD Smart Brief:  A daily update on educational programs and processes in the US.