Greetings. This is the first of what I hope will be a weekly column in The Anguillian focusing on children, parents, teaching, learning, and schools…in essence, all things educational. I am the Educational Psychologist, and I hope that in this position I can effectively share my experience and knowledge to help the students in Anguilla.

Peter Wolinsky

I would like to use this column as a forum to share with you helpful information about many important topics. These might include the following: how children learn; what gets in the way of learning; why some children struggle to demonstrate appropriate behavior; what the current research tells us about best practices in education; what parents can do to help their children’s educational and emotional growth and development; how to better understand children’s mental health. Indeed, these are the things that educational psychologists do. We work to find the best solution for each student and situation. Educational psychologists work with students individually and in groups. They also develop programs to train teachers and parents about effective teaching and learning strategies, and about techniques to manage behavior at home and in the classroom.
Educational psychologists work with students with disabilities or with special talents, address abuse of drugs and other substances (in collaboration with Iain Bibby, our Substance Misuse Counsellor), and work to prevent and manage crises. We collaborate with educators, parents, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments for all students that strengthen connections between home and school. Finally, we are knowledgeable in the assessment and identification of children’s social-emotional and mental health difficulties. (And, on the weekends in Anguilla, we eat barbecue and go to the beach!)

I have worked in education for over thirty years and bring to the job experience as a classroom teacher, school principal, truancy officer, student (many years of graduate study), and, most importantly, a parent (six children.) I am from the United States (the beautiful state of Maine, where it has already snowed). I am married to a clinical psychologist who has been actively engaged in helping students here on her frequent visits from Maine (and who has been instrumental in keeping my mental health healthy.) I like to bike, play the guitar, read, bird watch, and root for the Boston Red Sox.

I began my job here in late August. In addition to learning about the schools and the culture of Anguilla, I have been assessing many children to help determine why they are having difficulty learning or behaving, or both. I have consulted with teachers and principals to provide improved strategies for working with students, have met with parents to discuss issues and concerns they have about sons or daughters. I have worked with the wonderful staff at WISE and Campus C to help strengthen programming there, and have done a number of teacher trainings.

I encourage you to email me if you have topics of interest or questions that I might answer or address in my future articles.

Peter Wolinsky is an Educational Psychologist. He works for the Education Department of Anguilla. His email address is Peter.Wolinsky@Gov.AI.

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