PORT ANGELES — Darlene Clemens devoted 36 years to teaching and leading in the Port Angeles School District. She raised a family, she earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Seattle University — and though she’s supposed to be “retired,” she still lives to learn.
So Clemens, with her signature enthusiasm, will take the stage at Peninsula College for this week’s Studium Generale public program.
Titled “Seven Essential Skills for Kids and Grown-Ups Too!” — Clemens says most things with an exclamation point! — the free lecture will start at 12:35 p.m. Thursday in the Little Theater on the main campus, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Inspired by her experiences working with children in Port Angeles and by Ellen Galinsky’s book Mind in the Making, Clemens will outline the skills she believes are key to success in school and life:
■ Focus and self-control.
■ Perspective taking.
■ Communicating.
■ Making connections.
■ Critical thinking.
■ Taking on challenges.
■ Self-directed, engaged learning.
“Think about a kid who hears the words ‘focus and self-control’ at age 3 and 4,” Clemens said.
Then consider that youngster grown into a teenager familiar with those concepts — and able to apply them in his or her daily life.
In Thursday’s 50-minute talk, Clemens will discuss the ways adults can model such skills for their children and grandchildren.
She’ll also conduct a question-and-answer session.
In the Port Angeles School District, Clemens worked as a substitute teacher for a decade; then she taught at Franklin Elementary and Stevens Middle schools and served as assistant principal at Stevens before earning her doctorate and becoming principal of Monroe Elementary School.
She retired in 1998 but has volunteered in local schools ever since.
For more information about the “seven essential skills,” visit www.mindinthemaking.org, and for details about the Studium Generale lecture series, contact Peninsula College professor Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu or 360-417-6489.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.