How we live our lives determine what contributions we make to this world.©
My Story
Hello there! My name is Janiece Spitzmueller.
I am an attorney, public speaker, and educator who has taught all levels of education from pre-school through college. I have developed education materials for children, training procedures for employees, continuing legal education programs for an international roster of attorneys, and have published several law-related and education articles and materials. Currently, I am pursuing a masters degree in neuroscience and education at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Moderating a New York State Bar Association human rights continuing legal education program in Tokyo, Japan
Panelist at the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts Conference in New York City
I began my teaching after studying child development in college with concentrations in psychology and sociology. My summer jobs as a teenager had influenced my choice of college major. As a young teacher, I was thrilled to return to the school where I had my first summer job! The powers that be, however, discouraged me from challenging children based on their readiness (in keeping with my training) because to do so would threaten the school's federal funding.
With New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg during my civic leader days
Eventually, I became a government lawyer and civic leader. I worked for family court judges, presided over hearings of suspended special education students, and served on the Youth and Education committee of my local community board. Each of those experiences gave me unique insights into time constraints, stresses and preoccupations of parents trying to keep their children safe and educated while preparing them for the future. Throughout my rewarding legal career, I continued teaching, and I volunteered my time to help special education students become financially literate, to work with orphaned and abandon children in Africa and to train adults in a variety of situations.
As my first official act as the United Nations committee Co-chair, it was an honor to present the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs with the Distinction in International Law and Affairs Award. Click the picture or here to watch the presentation.
Studying global affairs at Palais des Nations, a United Nations Regional Office in Geneva, Switzerland
My interest in professionally pursuing human rights began at Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland while studying global affairs with a concentration in governance in Africa. I left the practice of law to found Global Digital Productions LLC, a digital media company with an emphasis on human rights.
Some of the panelists at an American Bar Association human rights continuing legal education program that I moderated in Nairobi, Kenya
The company produced, How to Teach Your Children to Think for Themselves: Improve Academic Performance, Enhance Life Chances, a program that embodies several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and was created for parents who want successful children help their 7-12 year-olds help avoid achievement gaps and learning loss, Dignity: Exploring Human Rights in Daily Life, a show that demonstrates how the UDHR impacts our everyday lives, and the documentary, Four Scholars From Rehema, a short about the education of orphans growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. I enjoy traveling the world for speaking engagements and to participate in human rights projects.
A clip from my presentation on “Educating Child Refugees and the African 2030 Agenda” at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
After studying human rights with a subfield in education at Columbia University, I developed The SICA Method from my experiences as an educator, a lawyer and a civic leader. 7-12 year-olds are at a crossroads where they learn to feel competent or inferior. Drawn from my experience as a government attorney, civic leader and an educator, this Method is designed to minimize achievement gaps, avoid learning loss, and motivate children to become more engaged in their education. These years provide a window of opportunity for parents to positively influence their children’s sense of identity, self-esteem and individuality before peer pressure kicks in at full throttle.
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