It was in her psychology class on learning disabilities at Cal State Northridge that Mariaemma Pellulo-Willis first realized that students who had been labeled "slow" or "problem learners" maybe weren't quite as slow or problematic as they'd been led to believe.

"I thought of the kids in school who had trouble reading or learning the classroom material," she recalls, "and it occurred to me, 'You know what? It's not their fault if they don't learn the same way that other people do.' I thought, 'Maybe that's who I need to help.'"

Over the past 20 years, Pellulo-Willis has done exactly that, through the founding (with Victoria Kindle Hodson) of the Learning Success Institute, a Ventura-based company that helps adults and children discover their unique learning needs through positive approach based on nurturing an individual's gifts, while shunning the labeling approach (ADD, learning-disabled, etc.) that, she says, can reinforce an individual's negative self-image.

It is, says the Catholic school graduate and archdiocesan master catechist, an approach that is completely in line with the Gospel teaching of Christ.

"Everyone has his or her own gifts," says Pellulo-Willis, who attends Mission San Buenaventura with her husband Ron. "Everyone has something to offer. That's what our faith tells us. So why can't we figure out ways to help everyone, regardless of who they are or how they learn, develop their gifts?"

A Los Angeles native, Pellulo-Willis attended St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School in Silverlake and Immaculate Heart High School in Hollywood as, she admits, "pretty much an A student with a passion for learning" --- and wanting to impart that passion to others. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology at Cal State Northridge and a Master's degree in Education from Cal Lutheran University, plus California life teaching credentials for regular and special education.

"I always wanted to help others, maybe as a therapist or counselor," she notes. "But as I learned more about the area of special education, I realized that there was a huge need to address young people who were being saddled with these labels, simply because they didn't catch on as fast in some areas as other students did."

During her studies at Cal Lutheran, a field trip to the former Camarillo State Hospital, where she worked with children who had "learning problems," reinforced her belief. She landed a job directing a Ventura learning disabilities clinic for children and adults, and it took only a short time for her to realize that "something was not right in the way we were treating these people."

"They were smart kids, brilliant in some ways. But some of these 'one-size-fits-all' methods being used to reach them were outdated and even harmful, because they were essentially reinforcing the negative attitudes and self-images that these people had carried with them all their lives, if they were adults, or beginning to form, if they were kids. So I began devising my own methods."

After 11 years, she went into private practice, working with individuals and families to help them discover and appreciate their natural abilities and passions by helping them find a learning style that was appropriate.

"Not everyone learns the same way," Pellulo-Willis explains. "Some learn with music or other stimuli, others need a quieter environment. Some learn well in a group setting, others in one-on-one situations. More than half of our population are picture or hands-on learners. I can understand the challenge schools face in trying to teach a large number of students in a classroom, but there is no reason we can't do better assessments to help figure out how best to reach each child."

In 1987, Pellulo-Willis began teaching a Ventura College workshop called "Education for Self Esteem," through which she met Victoria Hodson, an educational consultant and workshop leader who was interested in learning more about the multifaceted approach to learning styles. Together they formed the Learning Success Institute, and have co-authored several books, including "Discover Your Child's Learning Style" and "Mid-Life Crisis Begins in Kindergarten."

They have also presented workshops to teachers and schools throughout the U.S., and for the most part have found a receptive audience. One public charter school in Michigan, with classes in grades K-9, has been a client for many years, and has seen positive results.

"There are teachers who have told us, 'This is so right, I hate having my students labeled dyslexic or hyperactive or whatever, and I really want to work with them as individuals to help them grow.' And there are those who insist, 'This wrong, you have to treat everyone the same way, you have to have rules and assessment tests and so on.'"

It is the parents they encounter who are inevitably "very relieved, who want to work with us to help their children who may be having trouble in school," she says. "What we are telling them is, 'We are honoring your child's style of learning,' and from that standpoint it's an easy sell.

"And it may be that home-schooling is the best option for these families. Or maybe they can find ways to work within their school or school system to help the children, so that their kids can thrive and be excited about learning. The bottom line is that we want to fortify and affirm them."

Above all, Pellulo-Willis says it is imperative that parents do not let schools or school systems define their children. "As parents, and as teachers," she says, "it is our job to help our kids learn where they are brilliant, where they have gifts."

Pellulo-Willis has worked with Catholic schools, where the potential for flexibility is greater than in a public school system, although "some teachers are still wedded to the attitude, 'This is how we've always done it.' But if we're in a Catholic school, shouldn't we consider that our faith teaches us that God has made each of us as special, unique creations? Why should we care about trying to copy the rest of the world? That is not what Jesus' life or message was about."

Indeed, Pellulo-Willis believes strongly that her work in education is "a spiritual calling, rooted in who we are as the body of Christ. It's absurd if we don't apply that theology to the way we teach in our schools."

Because, ultimately, what matters most is not how many A's or C's a child gets on his or her report card, but how what sort of self-image and self-worth he or she develops before heading into the world.

"We need to give children an accurate self-image of themselves," she says. "Our faith tells us that we are created in God's image. Well, if a child grows up struggling in school, struggling to learn, making poor grades, what does that tell him about his image, and about God? Won't he ask, at some point, 'How can God be a loving father, if he made me this way?'

"And that's exactly why so many people reject God, or reject their Catholic faith, because they come out of their school experience thinking that God doesn't love them, that they aren't worth as much as the 'smart kids.' That's the kind of thinking we need to change, by letting our kids know, 'Yes, God does love you as much as anyone else, and God has given you special gifts to use in your life, just as has given special gifts to everyone else.' It's our responsibility to help them discover what they have to offer."