Lindsay Robinson is the recipient of the 2018 Dr. Frances O. Triggs Memorial Fund Assistantship given to outstanding Ph.D. students entering the literacy program with a focus on reading education. She shares her literacy education background and goals for her Ph.D. program.

What drove you to enroll in the Ph.D. in Literacy Education program?

I love teaching. There is nothing better than seeing a child understand something for the first time or see something in a new way. However, I began to feel that my students were being put at a disadvantage because of district-level decision making. They were constantly changing the curriculum, asking the teachers to change everything year after year, and even switching back and forth on the dual language program. Districts are under tremendous pressure to show student growth, but the losers in the situation are teachers and ultimately, students. As a teacher, my voice was never heard, even though teachers are supposed to be the experts. I decided to enroll in the program to try to address this issue.

What is your past teaching/education experience?

I attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL for my undergraduate degree in literature. I enrolled in the accelerated master’s program for my Master’s in Elementary Education. I taught for four years at a charter school in inner-city Chicago. During my time there, I taught 3rd, 7th, and 8th grades. Then, I taught 5th grade and Social Emotional Learning in West Chicago for two years. The majority of my students were Hispanic, from low-income households.

What did you hope to get out of your educational experience?

I hope to become an expert in the field of literacy to better prepare teachers for the needs of students today.

What do you hope to do after graduation?

I hope to become a professor in a teacher preparation program. I would also be interested in being a consultant for school districts to help them implement curriculum and programming with research and thoughtful planning.

Find out more about literacy programs in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.