As a resident of south Charlotte, people I meet often ask me why I drive thirty miles each day to teach at a private school in Davidson when there are more than a dozen private schools (some of which are the most well-respected schools in the southeast) within ten minutes of my house. Since Woodlawn is a small school, teachers often have many varied responsibilities. Why would a teacher choose to have three or more preps each day when they could have just one? Why teach at a school that has intensive projects to grade rather than traditional SCAN-TRON tests? Why teach at a place that you are constantly evaluating and redeveloping the curriculum with other teachers rather than somewhere you can walk in and be handed what you need to teach? Why take the risk with a new school rather than go somewhere more established?
The reasons that I choose Woodlawn could be for the parent support, the exceptional students, the lack of discipline issues, the high-caliber faculty, the supportive administration, the small class sizes, the beautiful campus, or the challenging curriculum, but many of these things can probably be found at several different schools, public or private, across the area. So what is it that makes Woodlawn such a special place? It is the little snapshots that I see as I walk around campus each day. These experiences help define the unique environment at Woodlawn. Woodlawn is...
These are snapshots of a school living out its mission. Woodlawn doesn’t just give lip service to integrating curriculum--the curriculum is constantly evolving to make connections more meaningful. It doesn’t just teach kids to serve others by simply writing a check--it makes sure that discussion and learning is an integral part of each service they provide others. It doesn’t just celebrate the environment on Earth Day--it teaches children to love nature and desire to protect it by experiencing it each day. The hands-on nature of Woodlawn instills wonder in its students. To me, wonder, an ingredient lacking in many test-driven schools, is the key to propelling students to want to be lifelong learners. So when I am asked why I teach at Woodlawn, I guess the simplest answer would be because the science teacher has dirt under her fingernails...