The King and I is one of Ms. Swoope’s favorite movies. Loosely based on reality, the movie stars Yul Brynner as King Mongkut of Siam and Deborah Kerr as Anna Leonowns. As a teacher, Mrs. Leonowns traveled to Siam (modern – day Thailand) to instruct the children and wives of the king in English language and culture. In one highly memorable musical numbers, Deborah Kerr sang, “It’s a very ancient but a true and honest thought, that if you become a teacher, by your pupils you’ll be taught!” This adequately describes Ms. Swoope’s Teaching Philosophy.  She believes that teaching is reciprocal and everyone has experience that is invaluable to those around them. With ten years of experience, five of those at OAA, Ms. Swoope has a BS in Sociology and a MAT in Social Science.