Making A Difference Mary True

Lead teacher at Unity School, Spokane 20 years in education

You can learn a lot about kids by reading their journals. And kids can learn a lot about themselves by writing them. That’s why journaling ranks right up there with science and math in Mary True’s classes.

Her students aren’t typical teenagers and they don’t learn in typical ways. They’re a perfect match for True. Her kids don’t read plays; they perform them. They don’t look at art books; they go to museums. Once, they painted colorful calligraphy on the classroom walls for art credit.

True tailors assignments to individual students, whose problems range from family upheaval to learning disabilities. Her approach appears to work. On typical mornings, teenagers show up for school an hour early just to hang out.

Of all her teaching tools, journaling is a favorite. Students are encouraged to write spontaneously — whatever they want, swear words and all.

“Some teachers like to stay away from that,” True said. But she believes if teenagers don’t tackle their emotions, they’ll have trouble tackling academics. “They can’t change unless they take control of their feelings.”