My name is Valerie Rose. Follow me on my quest to shake up the educational system. It’s time to revitalize education in America. Education must do better.
About me – Valerie Rose
My name is Valerie Rose, and I am a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where I majored in English and Japanese. During my time at U.C. Berkeley, I mentored at-risk youth with the YWCA, volunteered as a language partner for visiting students, and taught courses through the DeCal (Democratic Education at Cal) program. Additionally, I pursued my passion for international education by studying French and education in Paris and music creation in Tokyo.
After graduation in 2010, I moved to Japan. I spent the better half of 10 years in Japan, in both Nagoya and Tokyo. There I honed my Japanese skills. I don’t know that I’ll ever consider myself fluent – a problem of perfectionism! I do understand it o.k. though. 🙂
While I was in Japan, I worked for an international kindergarten. I taught kindergarten and first grade, most/y kids ages 4-5 & 5-6. Would you believe my students were reading at a third grade level by the time they were in kindergarten? It was unbelievable. There was no studying. We didn’t force textbooks or long periods of studying on the kids. It was FUN. Kids enjoyed being at school.
In 2018, my school asked me to open a new branch in Hawaii. That’s how I ended up in Honolulu. I spent some time flying back and forth between Japan and Canada. Canada also has an established branch of international kindergartens from Japan. I learned how to operate an international school. It was invaluable experience.
In 2019, the school was ready to open. I learned all about policy, requirements, and negotiating with local government. I learned a lot about Honolulu and the lovely people in Hawaii. It really is a dream-like environment. By the time we opened the school, we had a full waiting list, and our staff were fully trained and ready to go.
In 2020, my mother fell ill and I had to return to Los Angeles. I hadn’t lived in Los Angeles for almost 20 years. Returning to LA was kind of like a fever dream – because as you know —- COVID hit. Yep, right after I made the flight, the world shut down.
The best part about Covid was that I was able to go back to school to obtain my CA teaching credential. For the last 4 years, I have been working for a local school district. I’ve learned a lot about education in America. I’ve learned many statistics about education and literacy, and they sadden me. I want us to do better. I’ve experienced better.
In my free time, I am working on my blog, cooking, painting, or hanging out with my dog. I help teachers learn how to balance their careers and teach parents how to teach their children how to read.
Recent Quotes
I love discussing all areas of education. I’ve contributed to several news articles and blog posts. You can search for Valerie Rose (or The Weary Educator). I’ve included a few below:
This article is from HowToBe247.com and the article is about rewriting classic books.
I had the pleasure of contributing to an article by the Huffington Post!
I contributed to a request for an article about back-to-school gifts for teachers. I suggest tissues!
Apricus Academy is a new style of education.
Learn more about our school! We are actively seeking new partners.
