Madonna Wojtaszek-Healy
Joliet, Ill.
Class of 1977
Major: Elementary Education
After completing a Ph.D. in educational psychology, I was an adjunct professor while raising my own four children. Because of geographic limitations, I returned to teaching elementary school, this time in second grade in a Catholic school.
My own children have A.D.H.D. and Asperger’s Syndrome, so I’ve become an advocate for children with these conditions and their families.
In addition to consulting with principals, teachers and parents within my own diocese, I have presented nationally at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress and at the National Catholic Education Association’s Principals’ Forum and Special Education Conference, as well as their National Conference, on teaching children with these disabilities within the Catholic school system and/or catechizing them by full inclusion in parish life.
My husband and I have a small publishing company for family life issues, and I have written a pamphlet called “The ABC’s of A.D.D. for Catechists,” which is used by many parishes across the country to help untrained volunteers better understand, nurture and teach children with Attention Deficit Disorder.
I believe that this mission is in keeping with Catholic social teaching about the right to social participation and the option for the marginalized. My time at St. Bonaventure helped me to understand a Franciscan vision of working with joy to accept life’s challenges and support others who face similar challenges.
Dr. Cupp once asked, “Who says you have to read on grade level to have salvation?” I took this to heart. Even though I try to get my students and my own children to excel at academics, I truly believe that my real goal is to help them to understand God’s plan for their lives in the bigger picture. My education at Bona’s formed this in me.