Marshall Anderson Kindergarten Teacher

Marshall has taught kindergarten at Friends School of Minnesota since 1998. He has a B.A. in Native American Studies from Bethel College and an elementary education degree from Augsburg College.

Marshall is also an FSM parent. He loves running and coaching Running Club, writing, and being outdoors.

Faculty Spotlight: FSM Kindergarten Teacher Marshall Anderson
from the Friends Circle Newsletter, summer 2011
By Kelley Marshall, FSM parent

Friends School of Minnesota's beloved kindergarten teacher, 13-year veteran Marshall Anderson, 51, started out waiting for a call. “Which I don’t necessarily advise, but in an odd way it really worked out," he says.

Marshall grew up the son of an evangelical minister. And while he walked away from many of the beliefs of his childhood, the sense of being called to a vocation, of caring for others, creating ritual, of following your passions have stuck with him and are reflected in his appreciation for and practice of progressive education. “To me, this is the best model of what education should be and can be.”

Being true to oneself rarely follows a predictable route.  After majoring in Native American studies in college, Marshall worked at St. Joseph’s Home for Children in Minneapolis. “I loved being with the kids,” he said. After that, Anderson worked at Clara Barton Open School in Minneapolis. “That’s what really ignited my understanding of what a school could be. I had never experienced education that was really based on questions and pursuit of creativity along with traditional academics. I loved being there.”

Marshall worked there for four years. “In the meantime, I got my teaching license.” There were no teaching jobs at Barton, so Anderson worked at other schools and learning centers, but nothing came close to his Barton experience. “I was really wanting to be a part of kind of learning you see everyday in t

he halls here.”  Marshall briefly left teaching, but he missed it.  After researching schools in the Twin Cities, he found out about a small progressive education Quaker school.  “I cold- called and said I’d love to sub here….”  “As soon as I was with the students, I wanted to teach here. I had my journal with me and I wrote, ‘I want to work here.’” Three weeks later, and 13-years ago, a long-term sub position opened up.

Marshall is passionate about progressive education and the young students he teaches. “The thing I love about this age is they can have an almost holy curiosity towards the world,” he says.  He tries to honor each child’s curiosity and who they are as individuals.  “I love being in this role of really watching and trying to listen to who they are, what their questions about the world are, and to aid their search for meaning in what they are learning,” said Marshall. “There is something about that process that I really love being a part of. It’s fresh and it’s full and it’s joyous.”

Although Marshall makes his job look natural -- easy, even -- with his calm voice and gentle manner, a lot of research and planning go into his progressive, community-based approach.  “I think playful inquiry I think is essential for early childhood; it’s the best way to learn.  Across the country I think there is a huge loss in learning of how to learn, how to think, how to create and collaborate; and how to resolve conflict with others,” he says.  

Marshall keeps learning too. Currently, he is learning a lot from early childhood schools in Italy using the Reggio Emilia Approach.  “They’re revolutionizing our way of teaching,” says Marshall.“They have a pedagogy and philosophy of listening, watching and documenting the students’ process of learning through in-depth projects that are facilitated by teachers."

Working in a progressive school, Marshall is able to incorporate these practices into the classroom. “And that’s one reason I love teaching here,” he says, “I can create curriculum around the community of learners I have. I have gone in different directions many times this year according to what is really sparking the students’ passion to learn.”

One day each spring, the Friends School has a ‘Rise Up’ day—a day when each grade steps upto the next level, kindergarteners spending time with first grade teachers all the way to the eighth graders coming full circle to spend time back in the kindergarten room with Marshall.  It’s something every eighth grade class looks forward too -- and so does Marshall. “I play it up. We have rest time, morning circle, they build blocks, self-portraits -- they love it.  “It’s kind of cathartic.” And maybe especially so this year as Marhall’s own son is an 8th grader graduating from Friends School.

“I’m extremely grateful for his education here.  Marshall says, “When people look at our school, they see the creativity and warmth, and sometimes they think that attending to the social and emotional aspects of of students diminishes the intellectual piece. I think it’s just the opposite -- it creates and sustains it." Marshall's son is a good example of that. "He is so passionate about learning.  His nine years at FSM have given him immeasurable gifts -- a core confidence in himself along with knowledge about and care for the world he lives in.  There is not much more a parent could ask for."

After 13-years of teaching, Marshall feels like teaching kindergarten is still his calling. “It’s such a complex thing to teach well,” he said,  “There is a real art in it, and with the experience I have now, I’m doing what I really want to do. I want to keep building on that.” Amen to that.