Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland. My dad served in the military for two and a half years. We moved a lot because of my dad's job for Scott Paper Company.
Q: When were you born?
A: I was born in 1958. I have a younger brother.
Q: What interesting things happened to you?
A:When my family and I were driving to Alabama to move there, John F. Kennedy was shot. In Alabama the schools were segregated and it was the state that hadn't desegregated the schools yet. This was because the governor at that time, George Wallace, did not agree with the idea and therefore did not follow it. When my family came the parents of the kids from the school asked them to run for the school board. They did not know that my family was against segregation. When my parents expressed a desire to desegragate the schools people opposed to the idea of desegregation became very angry.My parents began to recieve anonymous phone threats and my parents had to withdraw from the school board.
Q: What other teaching jobs did you have?
A: I only had one. That was my first teaching job at a school that had just opened in Lawrence. This school was for students who had been kicked out of school for differnt reasons. I didn't get much of a chance to teach at that school at all because the students never sat down. Once, by accident, a group of students flipped me and I got two black eyes.
Q: Why did you decide to become a teacher?
A: I went to Harvard Divinity school, but I didnt feel it was exactly right for me.
Q: Why did you becomea teacher?
A: Actually, my guidance counselor said I should try teaching and I took his advice. Then I found that they had a teaching certification program and decided to try it. The rest is history.
Q: What was your childhood dream?
A: I wanted to be a veterinarean. I love animals of all kinds. I also wanted to become a therapist for adults and teens that had trouble with alcohol and drugs. Therefore, for undergrad school I went to bryn Mawr College and took Philosophy.
Q: What would you have chnged in your life?
A: I would have changed all the moving that had happened when i was little. It was hard to adapt to, this was because when she was about five years old, when I moved to Alabama, I had caught a southern accent. But, when was about twelve years old, My family and I moved to Pennsyvania and there people had made fun of my accent. Twelve yeas old was a hard age to move. I also would have changed the fact that I did not go to college right after high school, but instead woked at differnt low payed jobs.
Ms. Arnold is an eigth grade U.S. History teacher at Boston Latin School who won the Crystal Apple award and the Mayor's Green award.
Videos of Students in Ms. Arnold's class in the Year of 2008-2009