Woodway Center kindergarten teacher recognized for kindness to animals

Woodway Center teacher Malorie Cook at Pasado’s Safe Haven. (Photos courtesy Malori Cook)

 

Malorie Cook, a kindergarten teacher at the Woodway Center in Edmonds, has a long-standing routine on the weekend. “I do a good morning yoga, and then I go out and muck stalls and snuggle animals. “To me, that’s a perfect Saturday.”

Cook was recently recognized for her favorite routine by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). TeachKind, PETA’s education division, selected Cook as the runner-up for this year’s “Teacher of the Year” award.

Cook was nominated for work she does as a teacher incorporating compassion for animals into her curriculum, and for how she leads by example, as a lover of animals herself.

Cook has been volunteering at Pasado’s Animal Sanctuary in Monroe for six years. Brenna Anderst, who nominated Malorie for the Teacher of the Year award, called Cook “an integral part of of our continuously evolving organization.”

“In 2018, we launched our first Humane Educator Training for volunteers to assist with the growing number of school field trips and educational events hosted at our sanctuary,” Anderst said in an email. “Malorie was part of this training and has been leading and assisting with field trips, public tours, and summer camps with us ever since.”

Anderst is the Education and Advocacy director for Pasado’s Safe Haven, and therefore was familiar with PETA and their TeachKind division for the educational resources they put out, including lesson plans ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade.

“When I saw TeachKind’s announcement for teacher of the year award nominations, I immediately thought of Malorie,” Anderst said in an email. “Not only because of the work she does for Pasado’s Safe Haven’s education programs, but because of the love for animals she inspires in her own classroom as a kindergarten teacher. Malorie has devoted so much of her life to helping animals, including teaching the next generation to be kind and compassionate to all species.”

Chiriboga noted that often teachers do not nominate themselves. “The interesting thing is that for teachers, it’s hard to get them to nominate themselves or, you know, toot their own horn,” she said. “But when you start asking them about specific things they do in their classroom, you know, it all comes pouring out. They’re just thrilled to talk about it. And we were happy to hear all about it.”

And indeed, Cook had lots to say about her teaching philosophy when it comes to incorporating her love of animals into the classroom.

“Students come to school with varied experiences and backgrounds,” she said. “While there may be some commonalities amongst students, the one consistent shared experience is knowledge, and often a love for animals. From the time children are born they are often surrounded by images of animals. In working to create more engaging learning opportunities for students throughout the year, I choose to lean into this natural love and curiosity for animals and the natural world.”

Cook incorporates animals into different learning units throughout the year. In the fall around Halloween, she is sure to talk about the “scary” animals, bats and spiders. In the winter, the students learn about the Southern resident orcas in connection to their local community. In the spring, for an informational writing project, Cook has students select a rainforest animal to research.

Malorie Cook with students on a field trip to Pasado’s Safe Haven.

Cook orchestrated the largest field trip ever to Pasado’s Sanctuary, with all 135 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students from The Woodway Center participating. Prior to the trip, she went around to every classroom and spoke to the students to prepare them for what they might see, and to explain the circumstances under which animals end up at the sanctuary.

Cook primarily uses animals as a gateway for her studetns’ social-emotional learning. “I not only aim to help students better understand the world around them, but also work to foster empathy,” she said in an email. She hopes to lead by example, talking often about her interactions with animal friends at Pasado’s Sanctuary, about her dogs, and even about the spiders she finds in her classroom, earning her the nickname, “The Spider Relocator.”

“I relocate the spider outside, reminding students that the spider didn’t come inside to terrorize our classroom, but was looking for food, warmth, or safety and the kindest thing to do is put them back outside so they can seek these needs elsewhere,” she said. “When students are taught to be kind to animals and respect their space and autonomy, they’re more likely to be empathetic towards other people.”

When she found about her nomination for the TeachKind “Teacher of the Year” award, Cook said she was shocked. She had never heard of TeachKind prior to finding out, she said, but while on the phone with Chiriboga, Cook found out that many of the practices she has established over 10 years of teaching are things that TeachKind encourages teachers to do in their own educational resources.

“Many times you work in a classroom by yourself with the students, so you’re not used to expressing to the larger community about what you’re doing, because teachers tend to not think that they’re doing anything that special,” Chiriboga said. “So we want to call attention to that.”

For her runner-up position, Cook will be receiving a personalized gift basket from TeachKind that will include a humane bug catcher, and a “Someone, not Something” orca-themed tote bag.

As a teacher at the Woodway Center, which is closing after this school year, Cook’s future is uncertain. She hopes to return to Sherwood Elementary, the school she moved from when the Woodway Center opened to ease overcrowding. However, she is not yet sure where she will end up teaching next year.

For now, she is proud and happy to teach her unique curriculum to her students, and grateful for the TeachKind runner-up selection.

“When you get recognized for your passion, like it’s a weird,” she said. “It’s very flattering, but it’s also like, this brings me like the equal amount of joy.”

— By Mardy Harding

  1. This approach to the “social-emotional” health of children is exactly what we need. Cook sounds like a wonderful teacher and I hope she has a job next year.

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