He has a heart for his students

Teacher Feature – Mr. Lindsay Weller, Special Educatiion

CalMatters

Mr. Weller loves to see his students be successful in their goals.

Mr. Lindsay Weller is a teacher who has multiple classes that are categorized as NCP, or non-college prep. Students in his classes might be studying English, history, chemistry, government or social science, but no matter what they are focused on, they are getting a good education from an experienced teacher.

Before becoming a full-time teacher, Mr. Weller was substituting at Selena High School. Since he was already participating in the career, someone suggested that he could earn his Teaching Credential and specialize in teaching special needs students, so he began to take classes at Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB).

Mr. Weller loves to see the Special Ed students he works with tap into something they are not familiar with and knowing that he has given them ideas and knowledge in different areas. It’s not always easy to get students to want to learn, so he uses a variety of methods, including graphic organizers in Google Classroom for assignments that may be overwhelming. This method has been very successful for students in understanding the assignments.

The most rewarding part of Mr. Weller’s job is seeing students that he has taught walk across the stage and graduate with the other seniors. He is proud of them and happy to see that his hard work had been successful, and that those students would have a chance to go out into the work world or onto college and succeed.

Mr. Weller has taught at Armijo long enough to recognize that it takes everyone working together to make the school a better environment, and that includes the way students treat each other. “We can strive for a welcoming environment for students with special needs and we shouldn’t bar them from special activity such as sports and events,” he said. “Even if their learning style is different, they should feel welcome and respect by all of the student body.”