30th Anniversary History Book

discussion to keep those with ADHD involved in the class. She was not averse to having students get out of their chairs to move around if such activity kept them engaged. She also offered students options on how they wanted to tackle a subject: Did they want to read, have instructions read to them, a combination of both? Ross, who has a Ph.D. in anthropology, said her summer fieldwork with Native American cultures helped her teaching at Beacon because it provided her with insights about how people learn in different ways. Often dealing with Pueblos and Navajos as an anthropologist, she said, she discovered “they have different traditions of passing on information — storytelling and oral — rather than reading. They know the lyrics to songs without reading them.” Ross took her anthropologic knowledge and applied it to Beacon. Occasionally, she would even release a peppermint scent in her classroom to engage the students. Galyon, in turn, would offer up slides during his lectures, take questions, write out instructions, then have his students draw and work with clay, all while he played music in the background. His students often sat

in desks arranged in a U formation, allowing Galyon to be among them rather than statically in the front — a common teaching technique at Beacon. In addition to teaching the subject matter, Ross said, she also tried to build up the self-esteem of her students, especially those in their freshman year and away from home for an extended period for possibly the first time in their lives. Both teachers subscribed to the theory that there were four ways to reach students: visually, kinesthetically and through hearing and experience. “It will continue to evolve as a reflection of further research,” Ross predicted.

Both teachers subscribed to the theory that there were four ways to reach

Van Galyon

students: visually, kinesthetically and through hearing and experience .

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