Spring — 2006

Jeremy Heinrich

Early Childhood Education

“Laura Manson is really on the cutting edge of research in my field. She’s also incredibly organized and right on top of new developments.”

“I never get enough sleep!” said Jeremy Heinrich with a weary groan. “I’ve got my two kids, school, and then I’m always volunteering in the Head Start program. But when I see the kids’ faces—mine or someone else’s—I know that it’s all worthwhile.” It was actually his kids who motivated Jeremy to return to SMC, where he’d started out in 1994.

“Yeah, it was when I got started with Head Start that I began to get really involved, and that made me realize that I’d have to go back to school.” It was in that program that Jeremy recognized fully the importance of parents in the lives of their children. “The most important thing in Head Start is the emphasis on parental involvement; what we call ‘shared governance.’ And this just means that parents have an equal say in how their kids are taught in school. And if the rest of our educational system worked in this way, all our kids would be a lot better off.”

Jeremy states that “the best way to be successful at SMC is to talk with your counselors and find out what’s going on. There are all kinds of events and workshops offered here, and the counselors really help you to find all the resources available.” But it’s SMC’s teachers that Jeremy has found to be his greatest resource. “I’ve been so inspired by Gwen Dophna, who’s a real pioneer in the field. And Laura Manson is also amazing. I had an online class with her, and she put us all into ‘cybergroups’ and had all the material perfectly organized. I mean, we weren’t just staring at a screen. We were interacting on all levels.”

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