Marianne Novak-Houston was a facilitator and consultant in the International Courage to Teach Program, allied with the Center for Teacher Formation in Seattle, Washington. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mrs. Novak-Houston retired from the classroom after nearly 40 years, and facilitated a series of retreats called "Courage to Teach" for educators at all levels. In love with teaching from her earliest days it remained the heart of her work.
A quote about Mrs. Novak-Houston, "The best teacher is led by her students. She is a keen listener as well as a highly educated mentor. She allows her students to shape many critical instructional decisions, while maintaining a focused intentionality. Never has public education been more important, and great respect and care must be afforded all who are involved in it."
Though I have now retired from the classroom I continue to work in support of public education. It is my strong belief, indeed my experience, that one of the greatest needs today is to afford time and space for educators to come together in well-facilitated retreat settings, giving time for both solitude and small and large group sessions where you, on whom society depends for so much and for whom so little is really afforded, have ample time for true reflection. Our own health -- physical, mental, emotional, spiritual -- is at the heart of any true school renewal or reform. You are the true heroes in our culture and I salute each of you.
Webster University, B.A.
