Canterbury Kindergarten: Mrs. Corson

Natalie A. Trout
Marketing & Communications Specialist
February 21, 2021

Some teachers might use the pandemic as an excuse to retire early, but not Linda Corson. She actually planned to retire after last year having taught Grade 1 for 18 years, but then she decided to put in one more year. For her 26th year at Canterbury School, she chose to teach Kindergarten.

“What a year it has been!” Corson said. “It was an adjustment to be back in Kindergarten, but I quickly remembered what I love about teaching this age level. They are eager to learn. They look at you every day with happy eyes above cute masks, anxiously waiting to hear what we’re going to do that day.”

While Corson is well aware of how different Kindergarten is this year, the students are not. They don’t realize that Chapel isn’t usually in the classroom via Zoom, or that there is usually a separate French room and Science room. They don’t know what it’s like to eat in the cafeteria.

They don’t even mind all the safety precautions.

“They never complain about wearing a mask or frequently washing hands,” Corson said. “They just accept it as what we need to do to stay safe.”

Canterbury’s Kindergarten classes have a tradition of visiting parent work places as a part of their special focus to learn about places in the community, but since field studies are limited, they have had to improvise. Some experiences have included viewing a handicapped-accessible van and learning from a physical therapist. They made a visit to a local Army base to eat MRE’s and learn to march, as well as a trip to Aboite Trails for a focus on giving back to the community.

Another focus of Canterbury Kindergarten is social skill education, structured around Dan St. Romain’s teaching skills that give kids great examples and tools for using good behavior. The students gradually build a tool box full of language and skills to use when a situation arises.

Although it’s her last year teaching, and in the middle of a pandemic no less, Corson wouldn’t want to be teaching anywhere else. Her favorite things about teaching at Canterbury are the relationships with her colleagues and the bonds with her students and their families.

“I recently read an article that called the close bond between students and their teachers the ‘magic sauce’ that makes learning happen,” Corson said. “We have a lot of that magic here at Canterbury. It’s not really a secret sauce, everyone can have some!”