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I graduated from Duquesne University in 2004 with a BS in Secondary Education/Social Studies.  I earned my Masters Degree in History from La Salle University in 2011.  I taught Gifted education with a concentration in Social Studies in Quakertown Community School District for three years, before arriving in Abington in 2007.  While at Abington, I've taught World Civilizations, AP US History, Civics and Government, and my current courses, AP Psychology and AP Seminar.  I am the sponsor of the Our Minds Matter club whose mission is to promote help-seeking behavior, social connectedness, self-care and healthy habits while combatting stigma surrounding mental illness. I am also one of the AbingTHON sponsors and really enjoy being involved in the Abington school community!

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This is my Olivia who is 13. She  loves singing, dancing, acting, doing makeup and playing trumpet.

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This is my youngest daughter, Elise, who is 6. She loves art, science, field hockey, singing and headbands and is just a happy, funny little kid! 💕

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We lost Burt in February 2022. He was a good friend for almost 14 years.  This is him with Elise when she was a baby.  I filmed it as a good example of a behavior that is maintained by positive reinforcement. You’ll see him in some videos throughout the year and on my instagram @lindysclass.

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This is our new pup, Ginger! She entered our lives in April 2022 and is fun to play with and train. She’s a sweetie!

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I have two wonderful younger sisters, Jen and Lauren.  Jen is a nurse and Lauren is a board certified behavior analyst.  She comes in and speaks to my psychology classes once a year and is always a hit!  I couldn’t find a recent picture without masks 😷

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Teaching is one of my passions.  I have met so many amazing young people over the past 18 years, and I still keep in touch with many of them.  Few things make me more excited than having a new lesson idea and implementing it.  I take my role as an educator seriously, and I hope you will come to realize that everything I do is in an attempt to make learning meaningful and enjoyable for you.  In addition to loving the subjects that I teach, I like learning new ways of using technology to improve learning.

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Olivia and I love to bake and decorate cakes together.  This is something that I have enjoyed for a long time, so I was really excited when she became obsessed with Yolanda Gampp's YouTube channel, "How to Cake It."  A few years ago we did a live stream "Camp Cake" and made backyard BBQ treats out of cake and cereal treats!

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We love visiting Disney World with our family. This is from our last trip in April 2022 - our first post-COVID

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Some of my favorite TV shows are Schitt’s Creek, Dead to Me, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Queer Eye, Little Fires Everywhere, The Affair, Mad Men, Dawson's Creek, Friends, King of Queens, The Mindy Project and Everybody Loves Raymond.  I also recently binged Dr. Death.

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I'm fortunate to teach two subjects that I absolutely love.  I am fascinated by the study of the brain and behavior.  I take this course seriously because mental health is something that impacts all of us.  It's important for us to end stigma surrounding mental illness and help those around us.  Through my own personal struggles I've come to realize how important it is to be vulnerable, but that is much easier with an empathetic support system.  So, we're here to promote understanding of mental illness and help end stigma.

This is me and Olivia at the Franklin Institute.  We are replicating one of Jean Piaget's demonstrations, which we study in the Developmental Psych Unit.

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This is one of my favorite psych related podcasts

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Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.

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Here's me in high school! If I could give advice to my 16 year old self it would be:  wear sunscreen (you'll end up at the dermatologist a lot), don't care so much what other people think and LOVE YOURSELF because you're awesome.  We spend time learning about the teen brain in Psychology, and I haven't forgotten how tough those years were for me.

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One of my favorite assignments from last year was making the Playlist of Our Lives and I can’t wait to do it again!  I like a wide array of music including 90s alternative, late 90s/early 2000s hip hop, classic rock, and boy bands. Yes. I said boy bands. I saw Backstreet Boys in Las Vegas twice - sitting next to the stage was the experience of a lifetime and so much fun! In April 2022 I saw a musical called The Wanderer and got to meet Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block. Here is the playlist of my life:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qXaUaN8rpUigY2gwTpeFDg0dVz_lkRqqBVtnfDFaWPE/edit?usp=sharing

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Piaget - Egocentrism and Perspective Taking (Preoperational and Concrete Operational Stages)

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We love movies! Some of my favorites are from my childhood and I love sharing them with Olivia and Elise. We watched Hook in our backyard this summer. Other favorites are The Sandlot, A League of their Own, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, When Harry Met Sally... too many to name!

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When I was 13 my hair started thinning, and I struggled with this for about 17 years before finding a solution that works for me.  I wear a wig and I love it.  It's the hair that I believe was always meant for me.  I have a video on youtube where I share my experience with other women and it has been viewed over 1,000 times.  I realize that doesn't make me a star but it makes me happy to think that I may be helping so many people by sharing my story.  Wearing hair isn't something I'm ashamed of, which is why I'm sharing it with you.  Lots of celebrities wear supplemental hair for various reasons, and I wish that they would help normalize it for people like myself!  Sometimes you may see me wear my real ("bio") hair up (especially when it's 90 degrees in my classroom!), and perhaps you wouldn't have noticed if I didn't say something.  The point of sharing this is that we all have insecurities, and this is mine.  It took me a long time, but I choose to own it.

I love this quote because I have found it to really be true - the more open I've been about my struggles, the more I've found others who share my experiences and the more I've been able to find peace.

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Olivia and I have a shared love of Hamilton and were lucky enough to get tickets for a performance in NYC in 2018!  This summer we saw Come from Away and Dear Evan Hansen. Some of the other shows we've enjoyed together are Waitress, School of Rock and Aladdin.  Olivia has performed in The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan,  Annie, Shrek Jr., Schoolhouse Rock Liv, Jr. and James and the Giant Peach, Jr.  This pic was taken when she was Gingy in her middle school’s production of Shrek - the stomach bug ran rampant through the cast and she threw up 5 minutes before the curtain went up but STILL WENT ON STAGE! 😬 I love watching her perform!