jaynebramaninterview_feb14

Jayne was born in Ohio and grew up outside of Toledo. Most people would be surprised to know that she is the fourth child of a family with seven kids. She went to Catholic schools, and when she graduated high school, she made her big escape from the small town life and traveled to California.

Her college education began after she had her second son. She took classes at Palomar College. Jayne recalls that during one particular Critical Thinking class, she enjoyed the in-class discussions so much that she decided to pursue teaching as a career. Her interest and curiosity led her to CSUSM where she majored in Literature and Writing.

After finishing her Bachelor’s degree, Jayne immediately began her graduate studies at CSUSM in the Literature and Writing department. Some of her fond memories of graduate school are tutoring at the Writing Center and teaching GEW 101 classes. She states that she learned so much about teaching when she had the opportunity to practice, in the classroom, the theories she’d read and study about in her graduate studies courses.

Today Jayne teaches GEW at CSUSM and different levels of composition courses at Palomar College. Every day, when she steps into the classroom, she looks forward to the interesting conversations about the assigned readings. Jayne shares that currently, she and her students are engaging in the theme of food. One of the texts they are looking at is Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Her goal, as an instructor, is to encourage students to be curious about the world. Thus, Jayne creates assignments in which students have opportunities to explore their curiosities. One student assignment that Jayne loves to read is the field research assignment in which students seek out experts and interview them. This assignment helps students find meaning and relevance outside of the classroom in the topics they research and write about for class.

When she is not teaching, Jayne is in the kitchen, cooking healthy meals. Some of her favorite recipes are Czechoslovakian and Eastern European dishes. She also loves to bake. When she is not in the kitchen, she is hiking with friends. She loves the outdoors. In fact, she and a group of friends are training for a rigorous Grand Canyon hike.

In the next few years, Jayne would like to visit her friends in Australia and find full time employment somewhere in California.