Teacher

NAME: Mary Abel (aka Miss Abel, MzA etc.)

SCHOOL: UTMS

CLASS: 7th Grade Integrated Language Arts

SCHOOL PHONE: 609-628-3500

me...

I came to UTMS in 2002 working as a French teacher for four years teaching 
6th,7th and 8th grades.  For the past three years, I had the pleasure of 
teaching social studies and language arts to sixth graders. But alas, this 
year I've 'moved up' with last year's students where the teaching of 7th 
grade integrated language arts will make up my day.  
 

Any of my students will let you know that traveling and languages are two of 
my biggest passions, where teaching is an outlet for me to share my love and 
experience of the two with others. I'll often be heard relating one of my 
adventures from a far off land with my class or spewing out some words in 
French, German or Russian.  

I'm also known to add an air of mystery on occasion to my teaching approach 
where students are often left, purposely, 'up in the air' as to what exactly 
should be done for an assignment or project. This is done quite simply, to 
imply that there is not always one right answer or way of doing things, for 
when you tap into one's curiosity and creativity while offering students a 
choice in how they will learn, they are more likely to stay interested and 
become better thinkers for doing so. For the duration of that which is being 
studied, students hopefully will find themselves while embracing the 
abilities, personalities and intellect of their classmates.   

As is also apparent, rambling can sometimes take over my psyche, so with 
that, I'll cease typing simply adding that any questions or concerns can 
come my way through e-mail (abel@upperschools.org) or visiting room B-9.

Mission For The Class

Through the use of the written word, it is my mission to expose my students 
to the world beyond their realm. I hope to engage them in understanding the 
stories, beliefs, languages, customs, art, music, and societies of peoples 
from all over the globe and to ultimately instill open-mindedness, tolerance 
and curiosity as part of their overall experience as one of my students. 

Each year as a class we attempt to create an overall comfortable and open 
classroom environment where creativity and analytical thinking are 
encouraged,  questioning and discussion are expected and independence and 
respect for others are the norm.

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