This story is from:
Angelica Shiels
I am an AACPS: Parent, Belvedere Elementary School
My bright and curious 3rd grader was feeling burned-out on the demands of school to the extent that he was being turned-off from learning. By December, he was complaining daily of not enough freedom and too much sitting in his seat. His teacher, Mrs. Quinn at Belvedere, went ABOVE AND BEYOND, to try to improve my son’s morale and relationship with learning. This was no easy task given the schedule and academic curriculum she was expected to cover and my son’s ever-resistant attitude. However, she succeeded through a few creative and personalized modifications, some opportunities for him to exercise his own freedom within the confines of the classroom expectations, and most-impactful of all, a mutually respectful and genuinely caring relationship with my son. With three kids at a fantastic school, I have been able to witness some amazing teachers in action. But the way Mrs. Quinn handled my son’s attitude this year was nothing less than wizardry. It’s now the end of 3rd grade, and he’s doing amazing academically, but most importantly, he will end this year with a revived sense of his own adequacy, a voice that now knows how to express his perspective respectfully, a relationship with “academic authority figures” based on trust instead of skepticism, and with a renewed interest in learning. Thanks Mrs. Quinn! You are doing formative things for these kids that will follow them throughout their whole lives.’
