Susan Norris Graham

Rebecca and her husband Kevin, gave us our first grandchild, Benjamin Matthew Cogley, on December 14, 2010. I am Gigi and Gary is Big G.

TJC: 1968-69
North Texas State--BS in Home Ec Ed 1971
Home Ec Teacher--Fabens High School 1971-78
Fulltime Mom to Kevin and Rebecca: 1979-1989
Family & Consumer Science (Home Ec) Teacher 1989-2011
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 2002
Virginia Tech--MS of Education 2004
Education Journalist/Consultant--Center for Teaching Quality 2001--Present

My Grandchild
Church Lady Work (not exactly a hobby, but certainly a time investment!)
My Garden
Travel
Reading
Writing
Sharing my table with family, friends and occasional strangers
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Best memories:
Mrs. Burnett's Class (Boulter Jr. High:
Memorizing poetry and vocabulary words.

Mr. Wolford's Class: Singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic in Acapella Choir.
Mrs McMullen's Class: Will Durant's History of Philosophy and our "Abridged Shakespeare Productions". (Does anyone else remember Bruce Murphy as Puck?)
Mr. Mason's Class: He wore only white socks because "sorting socks is a waste of time" and his bonus questions taught us to observe what's around us. (What brand are the clocks in the hall? What did I write in the condensation on the window at the beginning of class?)

Humiliating Experiences which are now Funny Stories:
Our skirts were so short and the stairs were open so we had to walk up the middle of the staircase. One morning I was running up the stairs with my choir robe in hand. I tripped on it and fell and had to make an instantaneous decision--would I jump up and pretend I never rolled down the stairs or would I lie at the bottom and pretend I was mortally wounded. Can't remember which I did, just remember the humiliation. I now realize that nobody cared!

I graduated from North Texas with a degree in Home Economics Education and moved Fabens, a tiny town outside El Paso, to begin my teaching career. Although I only planned to stay one year in the land of sandstorms and tumbleweed, I convinced Linda Davenport to come to come be my roommate and teach second grade. The next summer I married Gary, our next door neighbor and she married Randy.

We left the desert for Dallas in 1978 as Gary left the hospital lab for work in the emerging cardiographic imaging market. I stayed home as Domestic Goddess while pursing a part time career in outlet shopping.

In 1988, with two children in tow, we moved to historic Fredericksburg, Virginia which is halfway between Washington and Richmond, the boyhood home of George Washington and an epicenter for Civil War battles. When Rebecca went to school, I went back to the classroom as well and for twenty years have taught Family and Consumer Science (what we now call Home Ec)at Gayle Middle School where I now teach the children of my former students! On the side I write for Education Week, do some research and professional development, and act as an assessor for higher ed teacher preparation
(While work takes Paula S. Tuscany, get sent to places like Peru, Nebraska.)

Six years ago Gary decided to retire from the corporate world and then got bored and decided teach middle school as well. Rat race to rug rats, go figure. Now that college and weddings are paid for, we've cleaned out all the closets and remodeled the house so we can grow old in place. The new kitchen is so nice that I might never cook again for fear of messing it up.

In the spring of 2011, Gary and I looked at each other and said, "It's time" and we turned in our paperwork. We are both still working part time in education--Gary coaches science teachers for George Mason University. I work as a virtual community organizer and consultant for the Center for Teaching Quality out of Chapel Hill, NC and lead some professional development for the Center for Teacher Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University.

My mom is still in Tyler at Providence Park, and I try to get back at least twide a year.

Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennesee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia

See as much of the world as possible
Publish a book
Be a good person