Susan is a proud alumni of Thunderbird School of Global Management, Glendale, Arizona, USA.
As a former Year Two teacher at Salcombe Preparatory School in north London, Susan expanded planning in literacy to introduce ‘whole’ books (fiction and non-fiction) and poetry into her lessons. The main benefits of implementing this ‘whole book’ approach are: (1) Encourages the enjoyment of reading; (2) Improves the development of basic reading skills across a wide range of texts – fiction, non-fiction and poetry; (3) Develops comprehension skills at a literal and inferential level; (4) Supports children’s writing; and (5) Encourages creativity.
Susan is especially proud of the achievements of one gifted pupil, Vihangi Rajapakse, who as a budding writer and illustrator at the age of six, had her first book “Tales from An Angel” published in the summer of 2009. Vihangi presented her book to President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka and her book launch was extensively covered by the local media. Vihangi’s developing talent offers great prospects for her future and Susan looks forward to reading her next book.
In September 2013, Susan was awarded a post graduate Diploma in Assessing and Teaching Learners with Special Learning Difficulties (with a focus predominately, but not exclusively, on Dyslexia in children and adults). This is a unique qualification which provides in-depth training for teachers interested in working with learning difficulties in literacy and numeracy acquisition. Susan retired in 2019 from St. Michael’s CE Primary School in Enfield.
Susan’s Thesis:
Medusa – From beast to beauty in archaic and classical illustrations from Greece and South Italy.
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Hunter College of the City University of New York).
Representations of an attractive Medusa occur on vases as early as the mid-fifth century B.C. in the context of the Perseus myth. Earlier portrayals, however, feature a monster, generally hideously depicted.
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the iconographic development of Medusa’s full-figure and gorgoneia images on vases and other objects from her earliest archaic representations to her fourth century B.C. portrayals.
The primary aim of this thesis is to determine when the transformation of Medusa from a hideous monster into a beautiful woman initially occurs and whether this transformation is simultaneous with regard to both her full-figure representations and the gorgoneia.
Click here to download the thesis.
Additional submitted coursework:
Johannes Vermeer – A Girl Asleep – A visual analysis.
The Altar of Zeus at Pergamon – An Analysis of the Classicizing Features in the Gigantomachy Frieze (illustrations).
The Arch of Constantine – A Political Monument.
Although these works are not protected by copyrights, Susan would like to be contacted if any part is used as research material to ensure its contents is correctly represented and properly quoted. Susan would welcome the opportunity to expand or comment on any areas the thesis and coursework covers. Please contact Susan here.