Most of us remember who taught us how to wash dishes. Fold laundry. Sew a button, or measure dry food. For many students at Northwest Village School, their teacher is Marion Masters, senior vocational assistant, who has been with the school for nearly 50 years and manages the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) program.
Marion started with NVS as a part-time employee and eventually became full-time. She works primarily with adolescents and teens, teaching them the basic skills of domestic life, from food prep, to doing laundry, sewing, crafts, and essential housework duties. Marion’s ADL classroom is filled with essential household items and teaching tools like sewing machines, vacuum cleaners and cookbooks. There’s also a full kitchen where delicious food, from clam chowder to chocolate chip cookies, is routinely made and enjoyed.
“I have the best job in the building,” said Marion. “We help students to do it all, from cooking and cleaning and to laundry and budgets.
“Now more than ever, with the world as busy and as chaotic as it is, it’s important to teach young people the basics. These skills are something they’ll always use, no matter where they are in their lives or the times we’re living in,” she added.
Among Marion’s favorite part of the job: weekly shopping at Gnazzo’s Supermarket in Plainville, where she takes full advantage of sales, and she teaches her students to do the same.
“I’d like to think we make a difference in the lives of our students,” she said. “Some come back and tell us about it, which is heartening and really gives a special meaning to my work.”