This edition of Teacher Spotlight shines on Brownell Talbot’s Wade Lanum.
Brownell Talbot College Preparatory School is the only independent preschool through grade 12 school in the state of Nebraska. With graduating classes usually in the mid-thirties and an Upper School enrollment of around 130, it can often be a challenge to facilitate course offerings with a diverse scope that can include electives where each student can find something about which they are truly passionate.
Adding MSON classes to our school curriculum over the past two years has been a great experience for our students. It has expanded the expectations of what our students believe a quality, college preparatory education looks like.
As an Academic Liaison, these courses have allowed me to work with students in a wide range of academic areas. Overseeing this program has provided me with an opportunity to see students excel in areas that I don’t usually get to be a part of. Whether discussing their feelings about Positive Psychology, setting up test sessions for Multivariable Calculus, or helping students organize their bones for CSI:MSON, I see the excitement they have for the subject matter and the true enjoyment they have for what they are learning. More than once when discussing how an MSON class is going, I have heard the response, “Oh it’s hard, but it’s my favorite class.”
The biggest surprise for me over the last two years has been how well the teachers of MSON classes seem to know their students. As part of my responsibilities as Academic Liaison, I review the comments that teachers post in their midterm and end of semester grades. Having had most of these students in class at some point in their time at Brownell Talbot, I find that MSON teachers know the students’ individual strengths and weaknesses, their quirks, and unique personalities just as I would expect any teacher who taught them for a semester in a face-to-face, traditional classroom setting.