Mrs. Aiken’s passion for English literature started at an early age. She pursued that passion as an English literature major at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, rated as one of the best colleges in the 2024 U.S. News and World Report of National Universities. As an undergraduate major taking courses in literary studies, literary theory, British lit , American lit, writing, rhetoric, and even Native American culture, she has, in more recent years, grown more enamored with the “classics” of American literature.
Her English major eventually led her to Lyndon State College where she further pursued a teaching degree and licensure. Her teaching career has taken her to a wide array of educational settings, including: public, private and home school education. This well-rounded experience has contributed to her success as a confident and inspiring educator.
Mrs. Aiken’s classroom is always abuzz as she shares her passion for her Humanities Course with the 5th and 6th Graders at Good Shepherd. Her academic interests (outside of Literature) involve American history, especially the Revolutionary War period and the patriotism of that period which undergirds American culture today.
Mrs. Aiken’s concern for her students is palpable and their enthusiastic response matches her own. She explains that the classics of American literature “incorporate strong protagonists, morals and values, a strong desire for justice and for good to overcome evil. They stir the readers’ emotions, engross their minds and are often a catalyst to double-check one’s own standing and values. All of these are perfect teaching tools.”
In the words of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize American writer John Steinbeck: “I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”
From the classroom to the playground, Mrs. Aiken’s love for education and her students is God’s gift to Good Shepherd Catholic School.