Latin School of Chicago

UP FRONT 2013 RETIREES Patti Golden Lower School Learning Resource Teacher YEARS OF SERVICE "The message was that you are a teacher, and what you are doing is important and worthwhile. I knew I was going to learn a lot." 20 L AT I N M AGAZINE 1985-2013 When Patti Golden arrived at Latin in 1985, she was immediately struck by the school's nurturing environment. "I'd been teaching at a public school, where things were very regimented and quiet. When I came to Latin my expectation was that it would be the same – but it was very different." Golden quickly realized she'd come to place that placed a high premium on intellectual and personal freedom, individuality and curiosity. "There was so much movement," she recalled. "There was so much wonderful activity." She also remembers being struck by the value placed on the faculty. "The message was that you are a teacher, and what you are doing is important and worthwhile. I knew I was going to learn a lot." And she did: Even as she supported students in the lower school's learning resources program, Golden continued to expand her own knowledge, taking full advantage of Latin's many professional development offerings, including attending symposia and conferences at Harvard and the Art Institute of Chicago. "I think when you're in this environment," she said, "you're always intellectually stimulated." Latin is especially good, she added, at encouraging the growth of its students and faculty alike. "I've had wonderful mentors here, " Golden said. "As you work with children and parents, you become even more patient and a better listener," she said. "As you gain knowledge, you share it with your colleagues, and you change and grow together as a team." Golden knows she will miss that. "I've been here so long," she said. "My boys went through Latin, too. This place has been family to me for 28 years, and a kind of home away from home." But, she added, she'll miss her students and her lower school learning resource team most of all. Her retirement plans are still in flux – but there will be a plan, she insisted. "I'm a very structured person, and I need a plan!" She'd like to take courses, travel, volunteer and spend more time with her family, especially her granddaughter, Hannah. Retirement plans notwithstanding, current Latin students and faculty won't be deprived entirely of Golden's high-energy presence or trademark speed walking. "I have a feeling I'll be coming back often," she said.

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