Meet Our Teaching Staff - Mary Lou Slania

"In my twenty-five years as a classroom teacher, I taught students from kindergarten through high school; most of these students had a reading disability. Early in my career, the educational emphasis was on teaching reading  as a survival skill, and while some students did well with  learning to memorize lists of vital words, most did not. It was challenging to plan lessons that engaged the students and promoted real reading.

 

Later, the emphasis shifted to authentic literature. While this was engaging, it failed to actually teach students who struggled how to read accurately. Brain research and related research into best practices in reading instruction were just beginning to create a buzz when I was introduced to professional development at Neuhaus. The classes that I completed here gave me the information that I needed to help my students become readers in the fullest sense of the word."

 

Mary Lou's free time is spent pursuing a lower golf score and reading a good book afterwards.