Writing Paragraphs and Essays : Integrating Reading, Writing, and Grammar Skills

Joy Wingersky was born and grew up in Georgia, but she moved to Arizona when she was sixteen. After completing high school, she attended Grand Canyon University where she was active on the newspaper staff and in the drama productions. She was a member of Alpha Psi Omega, an honorary drama fraternity. After she graduated, she started her teaching career at age twenty. While teaching in high school, she completed her Master’s at Arizona State University. In 1965, she also set up and taught the first GED classes through the Migrant Opportunity Program, sponsored the debate team, directed the school plays, and organized and sponsored the Thespian Club. During this time, she married and became the mother of three boys. After the birth of her first son, she taught home-bound students and worked with handicapped adults at United Cerebral Palsy during the week and on the weekends set up a program for handicapped adults at North Phoenix Baptist Church. She later returned to school to complete her Ph. D. in English. In 1975, Joy returned to the classroom at Glendale Community College. While there, she helped develop the program for teaching composition in computer labs and helped design the English computer building. As an English composition instructor, she, along with Jan and Diana, designed a Self-Paced, Computerized Delivery of a developmental English program for which they were recognized as “Innovators of the Year.” Her interests centered on developmental students, and she has been involved in using Multiple Intelligence with developmental students and remains active in curriculum design for and assessment of developmental students. She has served as assistant chair in the English department, spent many years on the Faculty Senate, and was active in the First-Year Experience involving developmental students. In her spare time, she enjoys working in her back yard where she can watch the hummingbirds that reside there year round.

Diana grew up in southern New Mexico in a bi-cultural, bi-lingual home surrounded by authentic Mexican food, traditional Mexican music, and a distinct Mexican culture. As a student, she has always loved learning and remembers English and Spanish as her favorite subjects. In high school she actively pursued every opportunity that came her way. She was Vice President of the Spanish club, secretary of her class, and student council representative. She attended Eastern New Mexico University where she was identified in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, elected to Mortar Board, and recognized on the Dean’s List. After teaching in public school for three years, she attended Miami of Ohio and completed a Master’s in Guidance and Counseling. At Glendale Community College, she worked in the Special Services Office with limited-English speakers and economically disadvantaged students, helping them establish goals and succeed in college. She was the MECHA sponsor. As an English composition instructor, she, along with Jan and Joy, designed a Self-Paced, Computerized Delivery of a developmental English program for which they were recognized as “Innovators of the Year.” She went on to complete a Ph.D. at Colorado State University. She served as the TESL Director at Front Range Community College, a program for teacher certification in ESL. She also served as Lead Psychology Faculty. She was awarded Master Teacher, served as Faculty Senate President, was President of Hispanic Education Council, and served on the Advisory Council to Longmont United Hospital Women of Wisdom Conference. Diana is currently retired from Front Range Community College. Skiing and participating in a Spanish speaking “Tertulia” are a few of her hobbies. Her real personal joy, however, comes from her three young-adult children. The pleasure of sharing in their lives and communicating with them on an adult level far exceeds any other accomplishment.

Though Jan Boerner was born in Texas, she and her family moved to Arizona when she was only nine months old. Throughout school, she was an honor student, graduating as salutatorian from high school. She had the highest grade point average in her graduating class at Arizona State University, graduating summa cum laude. She worked as a teaching assistant while completing her Master’s Degree at Arizona State University. After college, she was one of the founding faculty at Glendale Community College, one of the original Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona. During thirty-five years, along with other achievements, she served as English Department Chair for twelve years, organized the first honors program for students, served on the Basic Skills Advisory Committee, began the Writing Center, and helped design the English computer building. As an English composition instructor, she, along with Diana and Joy, designed a Self-Paced, Computerized Delivery of a developmental English program for which they were recognized as “Innovators of the Year.” She also served on the National Two-Year College Committee for the National Council of Teachers of English. After retiring from Glendale Community College in 1998, she has enjoyed her retirement, being an enthusiastic sports fan of the Phoenix Mercury women’s basketball team and the Arizona Diamondbacks. When she isn’t attending a game or reading mystery novels, she enjoys hiking in state parks and taking photographs of nature. She is also involved in cultural activities and is a member of The Phoenix Art Museum, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Nature Conservancy, and the Arizona Science Center. She is also a season subscriber to the Phoenix Symphony and often goes to the Phoenix zoo where she enjoys watching the animals. It is no wonder that she is a cat lover who has been known to pick up a stray cat, take it to the vet, pay to have cacti needles removed, only to turn around and find it a good home.