'Perfect Teacher' Wins Teacher of the Month

Joanna Legg won Bowie’s Teacher of the Month Award for March in recognition for her 11 years of service at Chapel Forge Early Childhood Center. The honor held special significance for Legg, who attended Chapel Forge Elementary School as a child.

 “I love it,” Legg said about teaching at her former school. “I live in the community here. … When I was hired here, I was really excited.”

Legg currently teaches eight 4-year-old special needs children. In a statement about the award, Chapel Forge Principal Elyse Hurley said she admired Legg for her ability to manage her classroom to accommodate the varying needs of her students and for the compassion and respect she shows her students.

“Is there such a thing as a perfect teacher? If so, Joanna fits that category,” Hurley said. “Everyone who works with students in her classroom marvels at the way she can differentiate instruction for the very diverse students in her class. She individualizes her instruction so that each student is educated according to their needs.”

The compassion and respect for her students is evident because, as Legg said, she really enjoys children. Ever since she started baby-sitting in high school, she knew she wanted to teach.

“It excites me, the wonder in their eyes, when you teach them something new,” she said. “I’ve always liked kindergarten through third grade and special needs students. They are so eager at that age, so curious."

Legg said one of the most valuable things she has learned was through a course on the Theory of Multiple Intelligence.

“It’s not ‘how smart are you?’ but ‘how are you smart?’" she said.

Legg incorporates this mindset by including hands-on techniques, such as music, art and motor activities into her lessons. Legg said that while many of her students are not able to communicate very well, they can memorize words to songs.

To engage the students, Legg said she uses different instruments to bring to life a story they are reading. For example, if a story is about a bear, she will use a drum to illustrate the bear walking through the woods, she said.

“It helps the children use their imagination,” Legg said. “They learn through music. They look at stories in a different way than just words and pictures.”

Co-worker Eileen Rodriguez said she appreciates that Legg lets her students’ “personalities shine,” and she interacts well with parents.

“The parents can appreciate not only the uniqueness of their children, but also what they can do,” Rodriguez said.

In winning the award, Legg said she was “really honored,” and even though she’s been teaching for 16 years, she’s not thinking about moving on right now.

“It’s so rewarding for me to be with kids,” Legg said. “It’s a different group every year. There’s never a dull moment. I never wake up and say ‘uh I have to go to work now.’ I really want to stay with children.”