Kathryn Narvaez, M. Ed

I am excited to find myself teaching with Well-Trained Mind Academy after enjoying the classical education my mother provided inspired by the first edition of The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. I was homeschooled through high school and I now homeschool my own children. I have enjoyed the field of education with a foot in each camp and from both sides of the desk (and many times on the floor, out of doors, and in the car)!

I have taught in both brick-and-mortar and virtual settings and I have experience teaching students from elementary, middle school, high school, and college. I have worked as a classroom teacher, a curriculum developer, an instructor of adult basic education, a distance learning lead, a curriculum consultant, and a lead contractor for the Texas State Board of Education for curriculum quality review. My background is in science education and my master’s degree in curriculum and instruction reflects my love for the what and how of learning. 

I am an avid history and science enthusiast. I enjoy reading biographies and histories, especially on ancient Mesopotamia and Rome. When I get time, I enjoy watching documentaries and listening to audiobooks. My favorite titles are written by British author Anthony Everitt (hoping he publishes another book soon) and I might have an addiction to documentaries narrated by Sir David Attenborough. My undergraduate degree included additional hours in geology and natural history and this bridges my islands of interest between history and the sciences. 

On teaching: I began my teaching career teaching science at a university public charter school and received extensive training through the University of Texas system in best-practices in education. These research-based methods provide a strategic scaffold for my instruction. Projects and cross-curricular integration enable students to internalize the why of learning. I strive for my classroom environment to feel purposeful and I utilize engagement techniques from an extensive toolbox of remote instructional strategies to invite students to be active participants in their own learning. Modeling, guided notes, interactives, discussions, projects, and games are some of the components of my teaching practice.

It is my hope that students sample the fine academic buffet before them, excel at what was once difficult, feel satisfaction at a job well done, find value in their mistakes, enjoy the view from the shoulders of our predecessors, and love the process of learning as we are all learners for a lifetime on this planet!