Lauren P. Upton, JD

An inveterate reader, writer, and rhetorician, I am also a life-long student, and my purpose, I am sure, is to inculcate a love of learning in others. I received my B.A. from Smith College – with majors in English literature and psychology and a minor in neuroscience – and my J.D. from Boston University School of Law. For over twenty years, I was a trial attorney in Boston. After a stint working as a prosecutor, I specialized in representing architects and engineers. However, after I began homeschooling, using the Well-Trained Mind as my invaluable guide, I realized that my true passion is for teaching – there simply is nothing as fulfilling as watching a student’s “lightbulb moment.”

I have taught in Grades K-12, both in person and online, and everything from honors-level biology to AP US History, AP English Language and Composition, and AP English Literature and Composition. I also have taught writing and rhetoric at the collegiate, graduate, and professional levels. While I will happily teach just about any subject (because it always presents a new opportunity for me to learn!), I particularly love teaching literature, writing, and rhetoric. Literature affords the opportunity to explore the depth and breadth of the human condition, while writing and rhetoric afford opportunities to learn the critical thinking and communication skills necessary to live in our ever-more-complex world. All three speak to the heart of “being human.”

When not teaching, I still practice law from time to time. I also have extensive experience in gifted education, differentiated learning, and curriculum development, and consult in these areas. For fun, I am avid theater-goer, book-lover, and adventurer, and look forward to sharing these passions with my students. In addition, I am an avid speech and debate coach, and have coached a two-time state champion and Nationals finalist. I look forward to introducing WTMA students to the thrill of speech and debate as well.

On teaching: I believe that there are certain “essential” lessons beyond subject matter curriculum that a teacher should strive to instill. These include, first and foremost, instilling a life-long love of learning. In addition, I believe it important to encourage and aid in the development of analytic and problem-solving skills; to foster creativity and “thinking outside of the box;” and to challenge students while providing scaffolding as necessary to allow students to find their own strengths and to develop new ones. To those ends, I serve as a guide and facilitator, encouraging independent learning and fostering independent responsibility for learning, while providing feedback and guidance as appropriate. Depending on the subject matter, lessons might be “deep dives” or “big picture,” and are frequently both, with a focus on project-based interdisciplinary learning opportunities. My classes are highly interactive and, particularly for the higher levels, Socratic in nature; students are expected to participate in class discussions. Both my literature and writing courses have written assignments of varying lengths; I provide extensive feedback, and I anticipate that students will learn to hone their writing throughout the year. I also encourage independent inquiry – if there is an abiding interest, it is worth investigating and sharing. I love demonstrating that there is no greater joy than the acquisition and sharing of knowledge, and I look forward to sharing that with WTMA students.