darinder@jacksonprep.net HMC 601-939-8611 ext. 230

When I arrived at Prep in January, 1982, I intended to stay for a semester to finish out the year for a teacher who had resigned. Obviously, I found something I liked! Prep provides a stimulating environment for both students and faculty, and I am sure that is much of what has held me here.

My job in the Howell Library is an active one, and I enjoy the variety of the work. One day it’s physics, next day it’s artists. But the passion of my intellectual life is British Literature, and I feel that the twenty-five years I spent as an English teacher have been excellent preparation for the variety of the work in the library.

I hold a B.S. in English with a minor in history, and an M.A. in British Literature with a minor emphasis in American Literature. I have certification in English, social studies, and school librarianship. I have taught English, Speech, Western Culture and American Film, and served for more than a decade as Chair of the Prep English Department. I have also worked with National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, Debate Team, Junior High Student Council, and several others across the years. I teach classes designed to help students enhance their performance on the verbal sections of standardized tests, especially the ACT and SAT.

Another of my passions is travel: I organize a yearly trip abroad, either at Spring Break or in the summer. Travel educates us about the world and its people in an immediate, first-hand way. The benefits to students are immeasurable! Teachers benefit from travel in subtle ways, and their classrooms are enlarged by the experience of visiting other countries and sampling other cultures.

My personal passions are my faith—which I would like to have infuse every aspect of my life—and my family. I spend my leisure time reading, gardening, sewing, practicing the piano and watching old movies. Of great value to me are the friendships of my former students and my fellow teachers.