Faculty Profile: Belinda Rother

Junior School English and Social Science Teacher, Junior School English Coordinator

Convincing grade 6 students that learning can be enjoyable is not always an easy task, but Belinda Rother has been up to the challenge since stepping into LCC 20 years ago. Having fun in class while learning seems to be the key, according to Ms. Rother, and her “funny money” system is just that. “Students are rewarded for doing various good deeds or making special efforts,” she explains. “That might include using proper grammar, improving in their school work or displaying good manners.” The play money that they earn can then be used at a flea market during which students sell, barter and auction items that they have brought from home. And any toys that are left over when negotiations have come to a close are donated to the toy drive.

As a social science teacher and a firm believer in citizenship education, Ms. Rother tries to get her students to focus on the lessons that they are learning in class as opposed to the grades. “The mark isn’t as important as the kind of people that they are and that they become,” she says. “When we discuss the Holocaust or Black History Month I want it to stay with them and I want to teach them to apply what they've learned to current day issues, like bullying for example. I hope to help influence character development so that they learn how to treat everyone fairly.”

In turn, Ms. Rother has learned how to be a better teacher, to springboard off of her students’ needs, to be spontaneous and accepting of their different abilities and personalities. And, she notes, she has learned how to be more patient. Anticipating the upcoming months, Ms. Rother says, “the spring in grade 6 is legendary. They can smell the end, they are planning graduation parties and they are bursting with spring fever.”

While acknowledging that her job can be very busy, Ms. Rother loves coming to work, because of her students and because of her colleagues who form a tight-knit family. And then she loves returning home where she can spend time with her husband, her adult children and her grandson.

Her greatest wish for her students is that they grow into adults who are accepting of all races, nationalities and religions. “I truly hope that they become life-long learners and that they have the courage to stand up and make a difference.”