My name is Jadyn Laixely. I have a Ph,D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and I have been teaching children and adults since 2006.
I have a family.
I currently live in Illinois with my wife, Korina, and our two "super-senior" cats, Boo and Tiki. Here are some photos:
Korina and I met in 2017. I knew she was the one when she met my animals and fell in love instantly. We were married in 2020 (yes, THAT 2020).
We enjoy going for drives, cooking together, watching Jeopardy every day, making things, and learning new crafts and skills. Korina is a sociology major, and we would like to write together one day. Fun Fact: Korina does my hair color!
I am a cancer survivor.
In 2019, I was diagnosed with two forms of breast cancer in my left breast just after spring break in the third year of my doctoral program. I had surgery on the last day of the semester, and radiation for most of the summer. As of this writing, I am nearly 5 years cancer-free!
I use this experience to inform my students, who are mostly women, about the importance of screenings and breast exams.
The Force is with me.
I am a huge Star Wars fan! Admittedly, I know people who are bigger fans. Even so, I am always up for a lively discussion about the saga and all of its offshoots. Click on the Star Wars post to read about the event I organized for Star Wars Day at the Spurlock Museum!
I am neurospicy.
I have late(ly)-diagnosed ADHD and am on the autism spectrum. I grew up at a time when there was no real information on autism, and when it was introduced, it was considered a serious disability that made people act like Rainman. I was socialized to be talkative and very social as a child, even when I didn't want to be - and so while I come across as extroverted, social events cause me a lot of exhaustion, and I need time to recharge.
Because of this late discovery, I am have been mindfully relearning what it means to be me, examining how my strengths show up, and understanding the ways that my cognitive processing has limited me - including ways I may have limited myself. I have struggled with chronic migraines all my life, and I suspect that this is in part related to "square-pegging" or shoe-horning myself to conform in a world built for neurotypical folks. This is something that I refuse to do going forward.
I love children.
This came as a complete surprise to me when I embarked on teaching back in 2006. I had no idea I liked kids, and I wanted to be a high school teacher so that I could teach those who were "closer to adulthood."
I was a substitute teacher.
So, I began substituting in 2006, only in high schools in the Dallas area while I awaited my certification training. The moment I set foot in the first classroom, I knew it was where I belonged. I actually really enjoyed subbing - and it seemed like the kids enjoyed having me. Whenever it was time for me to leave, they would eagerly ask if I was coming back the next day. During this time, I also taught SAT/PSAT classes for The Princeton Review, with a permanent classroom in one of the Dallas high schools.
I did alternative certification.
I received my teaching credential through the Dallas Independent School District alternative certification program. While many AC teachers/programs get looked down upon, I received really excellent training, led by the former principal of the arts school in the district. Many of my cohorts from that program are still teaching today and doing a fantastic job!
I used to be terrified of Kindergarteners.
Following my alternative certification training in 2007, the new fine arts director in Dallas at the time placed me in elementary: she said new arts teachers had a history of failing when placed directly into secondary ed. I was scared of my Kindergarteners for the first 3 years. Then I realized they were my best students: as one class bounced out of my classroom one day, shouting, "Thank you! I love you!" - I looked at the list of things we were supposed to do and saw that, once again, they had completed everything! I let the fear go.
I never wanted to go to college.
Fun fact: I no-showed for my SATs in high school! I was determined to work after graduation like my grandmother had. In fact, I kind of hated school, even though I saw it as a refuge from the craziness of my home life. A weird dream led me to register a year after high school at the local community college. I transferred to San Francisco State University from there, and after hitting academic probation, I buckled down and worked hard to raise my GPA. I graduated cum laude with a BA in Music.
It took me 13 years to decide to go back to school for my Master's, and then my Ph.D. Neither program required SAT scores for entry. I find it ironic as an abolitionist educator that not only did I wind up teaching how to beat the SAT without having taken it myself, but I made the huge commitment to get a Ph.D. in the very institution (education) that I have been fighting since I was small.