Spotlight: Faculty and Staff Contributions

Cindy Horrocks

Cindy Horrocks, part-time instructor for the Department of Teacher Education, said that though she always wanted to be a teacher, she never imagined she would become a teacher of teachers. “I never even knew it was a possibility,” she recalled. “Things just fell into place, without really planning for them.”

Horrocks was married in 1987 in the Salt Lake Temple. She started teaching high school in 1988, with a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University; she continued to teach on and off for seven years before suspending her teaching career to raise a family. “I was quite content to be a stay-at-home mom,” she said. “Most of my joy comes from raising my children.” However, in 2001 Horrocks got a call from Dr. Merrell Hansen, of BYU’s Teacher Education Department. He asked if she would be interested in supervising student teachers in the Jordan area. She decided to try, and she loved this role from the very beginning. In the fall of 2006 she began teaching as well: Exploration of Teaching 276 for Social Studies Teachers. “I love training new teachers,” Horrocks admitted. “I love seeing their excitement for teaching and watching them grow and gain confidence.”

Horrocks has always had a passion for education. She grew up as one of five daughters and remembers playing school, reading, and learning with her sisters. Her mother taught 4th grade at Cherry Hill Elementary in Orem, and both of her parents stressed the importance of education. Out of the five daughters, four are now teachers.

Horrocks does not recall a time when she did not have a desire to teach. She chose to work in secondary schools instead of elementary. Now after having children of her own, she is sure she made the right choice. “I totally respect elementary school teachers, and I love what they do,” she said. “But I don’t think I have the patience.”

Horrocks loved English, so during her undergrad years at Utah State she majored in English and minored in math. “Someone told me I could not do both English and math,” Horrocks remembered. “So I started on the path and went as far as I could go. Before I knew it, I had a math minor.”

This diverse interest base is also reflected in Horrocks’ use of her spare time--usually reading. “I read anything,” she said. “I’ve rarely met a book I don’t love.” She expressed a similar interest in movies. Horrocks also enjoys sewing, cooking, baking, and what she referred to as “all those mother things.” She quickly added, however, that she does not enjoy laundry or housework. She also enjoys traveling with her family. She recalled a vacation in which she, her husband, and all five of their children went on a three-week cross-country excursion in the family suburban. They visited American historical sites such as the Liberty Bell and Washington, D.C., along with sites involved with LDS church history. Her broad interest base helps Horrocks keep her passion for teaching.

Being very involved in the lives of her children helps Horrocks in her teaching career, and her career as a teacher helps her support her children’s education. Horrocks affirmed that being a mother only strengthens her excitement and ability to teach. “If you are teaching and you love it, it is among the most wonderful and rewarding careers possible,” she explained.

5 March 2007

 

Katie Steed

Katie Steed, who became a faculty member in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education three days prior to her 2004 graduation, said she couldn’t imagine a more perfect environment. “I feel like my job offers me the best of both worlds,” she explained. “I am able to affect the learning of so many children as I educate future teachers, and I get the wonderful opportunity of being in their classrooms, interacting with the wonderful special needs children I long to be around.”

At the McKay School Steed has worked as a faculty advisor for BYU’s Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC). In addition, she is president of the Utah Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), for which she holds monthly meetings on how to strengthen the field of special education. Between these two positions, Steed oversees an annual conference for educators, advocates for current legislative bills regarding the field, supports local educators and university SCEC chapters in attending CEC’s National Convention, and recognizes local special educators through awards such as Utah’s Special Educator of the Year.

Steed serves the community in additional projects related to the special education field. She presents in-service lessons to wards and stakes concerning how to work in a church setting with children with disabilities. This work is an extension of Steed’s dissertation, which was entitled Instructing Teachers of Children with Disabilities within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

In July (when Steed was over five months pregnant), she and husband, Marc, served a one-week Church Humanitarian Mission to Albania, where they educated professionals on how to teach children with disabilities. A self-professed lover of travel, Steed explained that cultural and language barriers were eased when the common concern for assisting children was established. “Regardless of the culture you come from or the language you speak, when you share a passion to help children with special needs, you are able to communicate with ease,” Steed affirmed.

Steed believes that every aspect of our lives involves a combination of faith and works, especially as educators. “I cannot imagine teaching [special education] practices without the instruction of the Spirit,” Steed said. “That is what I learned while at BYU, and that is what I desire to share with my students.”

Steed recalls a time when she was working with a 4th grade student who had a difficult set of behaviors. She realized that if she were going to properly help this child, she would need to enlist the guidance of Heavenly Father. So Steed prayed. “As I prayed, answers were given to me from both textbooks I had read [and] lectures I had listened to, as well as ideas I had never been exposed to,” she said. “The combination of this information provided me with the best way to approach this child, and it worked!”

Steed received her undergraduate degree in elementary education with a minor in special education in 2000 and a master’s in special education from BYU in 2004. In her free time, Steed enjoys spending time with her husband, Marc, and their daughters, particularly in outdoor experiences and activities.

On November 7 the Steeds welcomed newborn daughter Lucy to their family. This is the third child for the Steeds, as Marc has two daughters from a previous marriage. “I could not feel more blessed than to have these jewels in my life,” Katie Steed said. “I never knew I could love or be loved so much.”

18 December 2007