Mary Johnson
B.A. (Psychology and Latin American & Caribbean Studies) — University of Kansas
What will my child walk away with? The habit of reading and writing from more than one angle. I want students to leave knowing that a text can be understood differently depending on whose perspective they bring to it, and to feel confident bringing their own.
What can families expect? A personalized approach built around each student’s actual interests. I’ve taught kindergarten through twelfth grade, and I use that range to meet a child exactly where they are rather than teaching to an average.
What does class actually feel like? Connective. We’re always tying a text back to something a student already knows or has experienced, so reading and writing feel less like an assignment and more like discovery.
How do you challenge a curious mind? I draw on my research into indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in Latin America and experiences to show students that there is always another perspective worth investigating, and I push them to go find it in their reading and writing.
Credentials and Experience I earned my BA in Psychology and Latin American & Caribbean Studies from the University of Kansas, with additional study at the Universidad de Palermo and Boston University, and studies in Spanish and Miskitu. As an undergraduate I presented research at the Conference of Latin American Geographers in Costa Rica. I now teach in Houston, with primary experience in English language arts and social studies from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Why Mary? Why Brain Power?
Growing up between the United States and Singapore taught me early that there’s rarely one right way to see something, and that belief shapes everything I do in the classroom. Brain Power students are exactly the kind of curious, capable learners who thrive when they’re trusted to bring their whole selves to their reading and writing.