Community : Teacher Features

This profile of Mrs. Slattery was written by Cathy Soukup, Keystone student and member of the Keystone Connection staff. Following are excerpts from the Teacher Feature:

Here at Keystone, Mrs. Slattery teaches chemistry in the correspondence program. She originally got into teaching as a non-traditional student, continuing her education in her 30s after taking a break to start a family. She always felt as though she wanted to pursue something in science, and being a parent helped her as a beginning teacher. Teaching also fit in well with raising her children.

As a new teacher to Keystone, Mrs. Slattery is still discovering the benefits of distance learning. She says that the first thing that comes to mind is the convenience for the students. They are not tied down to a specific schedule, but rather they can create their own schedule. The ability to plan one's own schedule develops a sense of responsibility and independence that can be very useful later in life.

She views every day as a challenge to be mastered, and the days seem to fly by. There is still so much material that she wants to cover, and there doesn't seem to be enough time. However, being a chemistry teacher for these many years, she also notices that her understanding of the subject deepens as the years pass, and her skill as a teacher has improved as well. She says that after 20 years she still greatly enjoys her job, and not many people can say that!

To read the rest of the article on Mrs. Slattery, click here to visit the Keystone Connection online.