Profiles

Joan Young, Grade 4 Teacher

Years in education: 8
Years at Trinity School: 1
Education: B. A. Psychology, UC Irvine,
M.A. Clinical Psychology, Pepperdine University

Joan’s Mission:
Joan works to inspire and empower her students to discover their unique strengths and passions that will lead them to lifelong paths of curiosity, meaning, and purpose. Her mission is to prepare students for an ever-changing world by teaching them how to be critical thinkers and innovators.

Joan is a lifelong learner, always researching new ways to guide students in discovering their own learning processes. Following her belief that we are connected globally in an important way, Joan works to inspire children to reach out and develop qualities that reflect care and concern for people and environments here and around the world.

“I regularly connect with and learn from educators across the globe and value the diverse cultural perspective I gain through these relationships,” Joan says. “I believe in the importance of being a model of excellence in everything I do.”

Experience that informs Joan’s teaching:
Joan sees how children are like puzzles, all put together in their own unique designs. In addition to being a classroom teacher, she has worked as a 1:1 coach/tutor with students who struggle with learning due to challenges like ADHD, depression, Executive Functioning Disorder, Aspergers and Dyslexia. She has also worked with high achieving students who sometimes struggle with standardized entrance exams.

Joan sees her students build the awareness and confidence that they “can learn” when given both strategies that work for them along with validation that everyone learns their own way. Joan has raised two children; both graduated college. Her son is at MIT in graduate school and her daughter is currently exploring and researching graduate programs.