E-mail:
cfunk@vcsknights.org

Education:
Associate of Science in Business Administration - Portland Community College
B.S. with a minor in Mathematics - Portland State University
Master of Education - Portland State University

What year did you begin teaching? How long have you been teaching at VCS?
I began teaching in 1995, and this is my thirteenth year of teaching at Visitation Catholic School.

Favorite Subjects:
My favorite subjects to teach and learn are Religion, Science, and Math.

Why I am a teacher:
I am a teacher because I love helping others to learn. There is no greater reward than seeing the light of understanding in a child’s or an adult’s eyes. I was on the path to becoming an accountant when I began teaching 9th grade CCD and also tutoring math at Portland Community College. From these experiences, I realized that my vocation was to be a teacher. I have enjoyed every year of teaching and the changes each day brings. I look forward to helping many more students on their journey of learning.

What I like most about teaching at VCS:
I chose to teach in a Catholic school because I wanted to be able to share my faith every day. This is what I like best about Visitation Catholic School. I like that the Catholic faith is present everywhere. It is present in the sense of community we have, in the support of the parents, in the kindness of the students, and in the classrooms and the curriculum.

How my faith influences teaching:
My faith, the Catholic faith, is in all that I teach. Whether we are talking about the early explorers and missionaries in social studies or the earth God created in science, I always look for ways to tie the subjects in to our Catholic faith. I also use stories from our faith such as parables, Old Testament stories, and stories of my own personal faith to help teach students about God. One of my favorite sayings is, “What would Jesus do?” In the classroom I model this by treating all students with respect, and at the same time expecting my class to always treat each other with respect. My faith has helped me to bring a Christ-centered education to Visitation Catholic School students.