December 2, 2004
Section: The Guide
Edition: Palo Alto
Page: 9
Memo:TEACHER OF THE WEEK
CAROL WILSON
KEYS SCHOOL, PALO ALTO
KRISTINA NICHOLAS, MERCURY NEWS
Age: 57
Years of service: 32
Background:Born and raised in Philadelphia, Wilson moved to Washington, D.C., after she married. There she attended the University of Maryland and received a bachelor's degree in elementary education through a program that pays for the student's schooling in return for two years of teaching in the public school system. She taught for three years before taking time off to have a family. However, she stayed in the teaching business by tutoring children who couldn't function in a classroom environment. Wilson moved to the Bay Area in 1982. She became a pre-school teacher in 1986, but was quickly bored because ''you don't have the stimulation you have working with 8-year-olds.'' At that time, she got her California teaching credential and was recruited by Keys School. She teaches third grade.
Extracurricular activities: Wilson helps with a teacher mentoring program, which she developed after learning about a similar program at a conference.
Hobbies: Sailing. She also loves reading.
Book on the nightstand: ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' by Mark Haddon and educational periodicals and journals.
Who/what influenced your desire to be a teacher: ''I think I was born a teacher. My mother said I was the teacher in the neighborhood. I always had the kids practicing.''
Favorite subject: Teaching reading and math.
Biggest challenge: ''Trying to get through to the children that are having difficulty. And finding a way to make them successful and make them feel good about themselves.''
Favorite thing
about teaching: ''When you get feedback from the children. It's getting the recognition from the kids that what I did made them happy and they liked what we did.''
Memorable experience: When she first started teaching, Wilson had a student who had been left back several times. The student told her that he didn't belong in this class, so she went to talk to the principal regarding his case. During the discussion, her student decided he wanted to stay in her class and when he did something well, she rewarded him by allowing him special privileges. An expectant mother, Wilson was touched when he presented her with a green receiving blanket he'd ''saved all his pennies to buy.''
