Laurel Robinson

As I was raised in Boulder, Co, and the mountains became a huge part of my life. We hiked in the mountains, we camped in the mountains, and my Dad took us four wheel driving in the mountains. (Usually straight down over a hill…) He also took thousands of pictures of the mountains, and I never tire of seeing them clothed in the green and gold of the Aspens, or in the white of the snow.

Growing up with a mother who was a teacher…..was a different experience. She taught 24-7, which never ceased to make my sister and I crazy. That’s why when I started to think about becoming a teacher I said to myself, “What are you thinking? Have you forgotten the long hours, the prep work and the amount of papers your mother had to grade? Is this what you REALLY want to do? Although, I would think back to that encounter with the first Deaf student, and I knew it was what I wanted to do.

I received my BA’s and my MA in Elementary Education and Severe Needs: Hearing, at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), and I worked at the UNC Lab School, which was on the Campus. I also had an Interpreting job at this school, which led to an Interpreting certification, as I finished my degree. My first job in teaching Deaf and Hard of Hearing students was in a school district north of Boulder.

Now, 39 years later, I have taught in four different school districts, all of which have had great Deaf and Hard of Hearing student, as well as amazing families! They have kept me going all these years, and I’m still in touch with quite a few of them. They have grown up, graduated from High School, and gone on to have families of their own. I’m just starting my 40th year, and I hope to retire at the end of this school year. It’s been a great ride, but I want to write and use the proceeds of the book to travel with Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. Our students get very little time to explore the Word around them, and to have someone who signs to explain it to them. If you would like more info, please look on my go fund me page: https://gofundme.com/54959f7e.