Christine Benson, Forest Class Teacher, 8th Grade

Born and raised along the Sandy Hook Bay in New Jersey, Christine Benson began her teaching career in 2010 at the Waldorf School of Princeton, New Jersey, where she shepherded a class from 1st through 8th grade. After three decades in the Garden State, Christine’s joining the Siskiyou School team marks a move from the East to West Coast. The farewell to her tenure as a New Jersey resident comes with appreciation for the robust diversity, history, and grit that came with an upbringing in the tri-state area.

Throughout her eight-year journey with her class in Princeton and during a sabbatical year that followed, Christine pursued her passions for travel, wilderness exploration, and artistic expression. Having voyaged to five continents and varied cultures, she cites world travel as an important means of widening perspective and compassion for the other. Christine received her B.A. in Visual Arts with a minor in French from Rutgers University in New Jersey and her Waldorf Elementary Education certification from Antioch University in New Hampshire.

Throughout her adulthood, teaching has been her art and the mystery of the unfolding human being, her inspiration. Christine speaks of her work as an educator as the greatest and most humbling gift of her adult life.