Norma Richman

Most recently I spent twenty years as a sixth grade teacher in an independent school. I was also the elementary coordinator at High Point Academy in Pasadena for ten of those years. What made my classroom situation unique is that this was a self-contained sixth grade. I taught ALL subjects from math to physics, literature to ancient history, grammar to writing. Our days were packed with rigorous curriculum demands, but what ran in the background in my classroom was the imperative to create life-long learners and life-long memories. Prior to my independent school work I was a resource art teacher for a public elementary school and a long-term substitute in urban high schools and middle schools in California.

As a classroom teacher with more than twenty-five years of experience, I am convinced that fostering knowledge is as much about fun and high expectations as it is about the textbooks and worksheets that represent a prescribed curriculum. Maybe more... The fun? Good practices include creating memories and the excitement that comes with discovery and self-awareness. And high expectations? Set clear objectives and high standards for the quality of work. Be clear in spelling out objectives in terms that make the goals relevant to students and model those high standards. Your students will respond in kind.

Fulbright Teacher Program, Hurt Professional Development Grant

My educational background includes credentials in art, English and Administrative Services, an MA in art, and post-graduate work in Instruction and Curriculum. With grants I have been able to travel to parts of China and Japan, and to Cambridge, Oxford, and Barcelona to visit schools and network with teachers from around the world.

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