Profiles in Teaching: Joellen Welch

For nearly 40 years, Newman students a have trooped through Joellen Welch’s 4th grade class. The class, now led by co-teachers Ms. Welch and Laurie Diamond is remembered fondly by students and alumni as a joyous atmosphere where the standards are high and learning is accelerated by the catalyst of fun. Even decades later, alumni can recall their 4th grade play, an integral part of the year’s curriculum. Ms. Welch will be concluding her teaching career this year, so we sat down to collect some of her thoughts on students, teaching, and Newman. 

I’ve been teaching for a total of 47 years, but 37 of those have been at Newman. I came in 1976; that is the same year as Coach Hecker.

It was very much like a family. It was a little bit smaller and there was a lot of interaction between the Lower School, Middle School, and the Upper School. We had parades together and we knew more of them. The campus was different, in the lower school end of it there was only, what is now called the Stern Building. Before all of this was built there was no Paelastra, no football field. The playground out here we had a big oak tree with a deck around it with benches you could sit on, and we had tennis courts.

 

Certainly technology, it’s a huge change. Just the copy machines that we didn’t have, computers, email, smart boards, and so many different technological advances that have been great additions to our teaching.

I think one of the biggest challenges facing students these days is the social networking, social media. I think they want so much to be a part of it, and yet it’s very hard for them to understand how they should use it and how posting something can really affect their lives down the road. And I’m not sure younger children are able to handle that, or even older children.

 

I think one thing I would say is to be consistent. Think about what you say you’re going to do and then actually do it, because children learn really quickly when you say you’re going to do something and you don’t. It is also very important to set the bar high, to set the standards high. If you set the standards for mediocrity, then the students are going to reach for mediocrity. If you set the bar higher, they will strive to reach whatever they know your standards are.

I have done, for many years now, the early morning care duty in the Dining Hall for students who get here between 7:00 and 7:45 a.m. I’ve been the lower school liaison for the individual pictures, distributing and collecting them from the lower school and passing them on. I have also taken a Newman at Night class as well, the Photoshop one with Jerry Guillot.

I have many fond memories of the wonderful students that I have had the opportunity to work with – and the great families. And it has been really fun to interact with some of these students as adults now, and I’ve even taught some of their children. So I’m teaching children of children I taught. I think that has been a great experience. I sometimes even see common personality traits.

 

I think certainly my play that I do every year is another highlight for me of my years here. I’ve been doing the December play, the 4th grade play, for most of my 37 years. Everyone has a part. A speaking part; it may be small, but everyone has a part. But then some kids want a small speaking part. But then they’re involved in other parts, too.  I think one change that has helped is the Dance Studio. It goes along with the play, and Lisa (Weber) has been wonderful. She helps us choreograph a dance or movements for our play, or the songs in our play. And that has been fun; it has added another dimension to the play.

One is to sleep past five o’clock in the morning! To sit on my porch and read a book and not have to start it four times as I put it down for a month or two. A fun, adult book, not a 4th grade book.

Certainly, I’m thankful for Newman and all of my years here; it’s been part of my life for over half of my life. It will be very strange not to be here on the first day of school next year. I keep saying, “you might very well see me show up because I’ll forget that I’m not supposed to be here.” I’m also thankful for working with Lori Diamond. It’s a strange coincidence that we started in 1977, which was my 2nd year here. We both were teachers in 4th grade, and then she left when she had her children. But she came back, and now we are together again ending my career here as a co-teacher.