"As a leader and promoter of literacy in our community, I hope that I will be remembered as a teacher who believed in the importance of life-long learning," says Bonnie Walston, who teaches reading and special education at Salisbury's Parkside High School. Mrs. Walston believes that educators today can no longer expect to fit the child to the classroom, but rather, they should find all the necessary resources to fit the classroom to the child. On a daily basis, Mrs. Walston tries to make her students feel that "their lives are more secure, by cultivating their minds and characters." This year Mrs. Walston initiated the "Books for Babies" literacy project. The project, which is sponsored by the Eastern Shore Reading Council, promotes literacy as early as infancy. "We are providing a book for every baby born at our local hospital, and making information on the importance of daily reading available to the parents of the newborn." Mrs. Walston would like to see this program put into practice in every hospital and parenting class across the country.
Salisbury State University, B.A.
