Catherine Gleeson teaches English at Waterloo Senior High School in Waterloo. In 1988, Stephanie Sanders, a student of Mrs. Gleeson's at the time, won a prestigious national essay contest; in 1989, Senator Ralph Dunne introduced a resolution commending student and teacher to the Illinois Legislature. Mrs. Gleeson makes it a general pratice to encourage her students to submit their written work to essay contests. "I always expect the best and the most from myself and from my students," says Mrs. Gleeson, who attends post-graduate courses on a regular basis. Keeping abreast of current educational research is, for Mrs. Gleeson, part of her preparation as an effective teacher. Mrs. Gleeson would like to participate in developing a "combination reading, writing, speaking, listening laboratory, equipped with voice activated computers that are programmed to read." Such a laboratory would radically transform the nature of her work she is already engaged in with dyslexic and dysgraphic students. She thinks that "such technology, as standard furniture for schools, would unlock the world of knowledge for dyslexic students."
St. Louis University, B.A.
