Five Questions with Ms. Rosenberg (née Orfaly)
Kindergarten teacher Liz Rosenberg (née Orfaly) came to Creative Minds seven years ago, by way of a fellowship at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School. Dr. Golnar Abedin, CMI’s founder and our executive director at the time, visited Inspired Teaching to observe teachers and invited Ms. Rosenberg to an interview. The rest is CMI history.
For the first fours years of her teaching, Ms. Rosenberg, a graduate of Oberlin College, was also pursuing a master’s in early childhood teaching. Her own learning and leadership continued from there, with the Emerging Leaders program, through the New Leaders organization; a seat on the Fellows Advisory Board of the Center for Inspired Teaching; and, currently, a fellowship with EmpowerEd. She’s also a generous mentor—hosting fellow teachers in her classroom, where she guides them and models teaching practices so they can go on to lead their own classrooms.
This year with her students, Ms. Rosenberg is doing a year-long program on using Thinking Routines. She’s an engaged, dynamic teacher who inspires in her students curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning. She recently married, and her students are now getting used to calling her by her new name, after they counted down together to the name change.
To see what’s happening in Ms. Rosenberg’s classroom, follow her on Twitter. On Monday, November 25, stay tuned to the EmpowerED Twitter feed as she guest tweets for the day. Read on for her answers to five questions from CMI …
Five Questions with Ms. Rosenberg
CMI: What three words best describe you as a teacher?
Liz Rosenberg: Passionate, student advocate, loving.
CMI: What were you most excited about the first time you stepped into the classroom as a teacher?
LR: I was so excited to build relationships with students and make a meaningful change in their lives.
CMI: If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your kindergarten-age self?
LR: If I could talk to five-year-old me, I would say that mistakes are what help us grow and learn and not to be afraid of them.
CMI: If you could take your students anywhere in the world on a learning adventure, where would you go?
LR: If I could take my students anywhere, I would take them to a Broadway show. I grew up in Manhattan and was so lucky to experience musicals from a young age. Even now, listening to the soundtracks is my happy place.
CMI: What’s the last book you read?
LR: Right now I’m reading Tiny Beautiful Things, by Cheryl Strayed.