Margaret McClatchey
Chair of Theatre Arts
USD 512, Shawnee Mission North High School
Overland Park

Teaching Philosophy

"Classroom atmosphere is vital to learning for each student must feel safe and welcome.  Students must feel so comfortable they will take risks such as asking questions and disagreeing with their peers and teachers.  This atmosphere is based on trust, which is difficult to establish, and easily destroyed.  The time spent building trust in the classroom is vital to student learning.  A sense of humor is a necessary part of this positive atmosphere.  Students feel comfortable in a classroom where the teacher humorously acknowledges mistakes and encourages students to be themselves.  Humor should never be harmful; it should create important moments of comic relief, making learning an enjoyable process.  The necessary classroom atmosphere must also contain an environment where students know their work will be treated fairly.  All students must feel that each had been given equal opportunities to speak, to question and to be themselves in a relaxed atmosphere of support and caring.

Honors and Awards

What People Say. . .

Margaret works well with all students from gifted to behavior disorder to developmentally delayed.  Her patience and humor help kids get through.  She is an advocate for them.  She works with parents, counselors, and administrators to bring out the best in her students.  She demands excellence and discipline, and yet is gentle with them when that is needed . . . With amazing grit and intelligence, Margaret McClatchey forged the North theatre program into a powerhouse.  Under Margaret's guidance the curriculum and extra curricular activities provide a model for the country."  Maureen Davis, colleague

"Mrs. McClatchey changed my life.  I don't say that flippantly.  She helped me realize my passion in life--theatre.  It is difficult to sum up the one million things she taught me about the arts, but quite easy to sum up how excellent she is as a teacher . . .McClatchey, as any former drama student will affectionately call her, can take the most disinterested student and thrill him with tales of Dionysus, Thespis, or William Shakespeare.  She will push him to perform well, both on paper and on the stage."  Krista Taschl, former student

"Mrs. McClatchey is kind and gentle, strict yet motivating, loving and caring, honest and moral, brilliant and talented.  She was and still is a role model and facilitator of impeccable character for hundreds of students on a daily basis."  Elizabeth (Godfrey) Boldt, former student