Faculty member Jim Williamson, left, with graduate student Andrew Larive
(Photo by Julie Titone)
PULLMAN Andrew Larive’s third-grade teacher gave him confidence. Now, 34 years later, that same teacher has helped him get a teaching degree.
Larive completed the master in teaching (M.I.T.) program this summer at Washington State University. His instructors included Jim Williamson. Larive first came to Pullman as a child and crossed paths with Williamson at Edison Elementary School.
“I had a series of poor teachers before moving to Pullman,” said Larive, who now lives in nearby Palouse. “Mr. Williamson helped me get on my feet and feel confident about my abilities. He made learning interesting and fun.”
Larive felt lucky to have Williamson again as a college instructor. “He’s a seasoned, highly respected educator. It was also nice to renew a friendship as adults and have Jim as a mentor at the university level.”
 |
|
Andrew Larive stands next to third grade teacher Jim Williamson
in the upper left of this 1975-76 class photo |
Williamson taught in Pullman public schools until his retirement in 2004, then became an adjunct faculty member in WSU’s College of Education. He’s used to seeing his former students around town, but not on his enrollment charts. “It’s pretty unusual,” he said of the grade school/graduate school connection.
During 2008-2009, Williamson taught Larive both science methods and classroom management, and served on his master’s project committee.
“Jim taught us to discover each student’s interests and use those as a platform for learning,” Larive said.
WSU’s 12-month master in teaching degree, which starts each June, is designed for people who hold an undergraduate degree in another subject. Some students take it right after earning their bachelor’s degrees, but many have already been in the work force. Larive earned a B.A. in humanities from WSU in 1991. He worked as a fisherman in Alaska, then spent 10 years with United Parcel Service before deciding to follow in the footsteps of his mother and grandfather, both educators.
The M.I.T. program is a more intense version of WSU’s undergraduate elementary and secondary education degree programs. For example, Williamson said, a course normally taught once a week for 15 weeks is compressed into five days a week for four weeks.
“It’s challenging processing all of that information in such a short amount of time,” said Larive, adding that it took him awhile to adjust to the pace.
“Andrew really blossomed as the program went on,” said Williamson.
For Larive, the program included spending 12 weeks as a student teacher in a Garfield Elementary School classroom. “It was fun and exciting and new every single day,” he said. “It was certainly difficult, especially in the beginning.” His WSU supervisor during that experience was Gloria Tinder, who was a substitute teacher in one of Larive’s middle school or high school classes.
Larive’s master’s project looked at the effects of reading programs on English language learners. He will graduate in August, then return to campus to earn an endorsement in special education. His goal is to land a teaching job “someplace warm.”
Williamson laughingly recalls a graduate student’s response upon hearing about his connection with Larive.
“He said, ‘That’s creepy!’ ” Williamson recalled. “What I wanted to hear was, ‘You can’t be that old!’”
