Mind in Motion Fall 2013 | Page 5

1949 Earned bachelor’s in elementary education from Brigham Young University A LEAGUE OF HER OWN: Q & A WITH MARIAN BERGESON Long-time MIND Research Institute supporter and board member Marian Bergeson will receive the Gordon L. Shaw Lifetime Achievement Award at MIND’s annual gala on November 23, 2013. 1964 Elected to Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education 1974 Elected to California State Assembly Q: What were your early teaching experiences like? Q: What’s the greatest opportunity you see in education today? Teaching at an all-minority school in Santa Monica in the mid-1950s was a very challenging situation. Not much was expected of kids in those days and that sort of offended me. I introduced the kids to science and they really performed well. I had them building a hands-on example of the solar system when the administrators came in, and they were very impressed. We have the opportunity in our communities to cooperate, collaborate and work together to improve education. We need to take advantage of the partnerships with local businesses and develop new technologies and tools to better engage students both young and old. I say “tools” for learning, because I always think the human element is important to bring together new ideas and creativity. Q: What was it like being a woman in politics at that time? Bill presentation to the California State Assembly 1994 Elected Orange County Supervisor Women weren’t really considered politicians then. The prevailing thinking was, how can a woman go up there and be effective in smoke-filled roo