When I was five years old, my mother took me to the
local public school to enroll me in kindergarten. She told me we walked out of
that big public school and I looked at her and said, "I'm not going to
make any friends here." My sympathetic mother took me across the street
and up the block to the small Lutheran school. A two-story brick building with
red doors that, according to my mother, smelled like an old basement.
I had to be tested first, so the kindergarten
teacher, Mrs. Babcock, came downstairs to get me and took me up to her
classroom. I don't remember what happened up there, but my mother says I came
downstairs holding Mrs. Babcock's hand and smiling. I had found my school.
I went to Eltingville Lutheran from kindergarten
through eighth grade and graduated as valedictorian on June 26, 1996. I am
grateful for my time there, as it was there that I discovered my love of
learning and realized that I wanted to be a teacher (in kindergarten!). I
remember all of my teachers, all of their different personalities, all of the
fun events, like the Thanksgiving Day Feast, Father-Daughter dances, bake sales
(where Mrs. Green, my third grade teacher, came in with a roll of quarters and
gave students who forgot their money fifty cents each, enough to buy two treats),
all the plays, the poetry recital, my middle school teachers asking me to tutor
the other kids in Spanish and math. I remember how all the teachers knew every
student and their parents and how we could tell they truly cared about us. While
I went on to get a bachelor of science in elementary education, it was at
Eltingville Lutheran School on Staten Island that I discovered what it means to
be a teacher. I will be forever grateful for all the teachers and friends that
I met there and for everything I learned there. I believe I am the person I am
today in part because of Eltingville.
Judy Cataldi
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When I think about education, there are so many
things I am thankful for: my parents, who were educators themselves, the many
teachers I had over the years who shaped me into who I am today, and the
students I had in my classroom, who taught me as much as I taught them.
Today, though, I am thankful for the enthusiasm and
commitment of young teachers! My daughter Hailey, a fourth grader, has a young
and new-to-the-classroom teacher for math this year. In the short time since the
school year began, Hailey has benefited from this teacher’s enthusiasm and
commitment to education in so many ways. Math is not one of Hailey’s favorite
subjects, but since this teacher is young and enthusiastic, Hailey connects
with her more, making math a little more tolerable. I can tell this teacher
truly cares about Hailey’s success. She has been instrumental in helping Hailey
stay organized. She has provided extra support and even extra credit
opportunities for Hailey when needed. And she has maintained an excellent level
of communication with me, letting me know not only her concerns about Hailey’s
progress, but also Hailey’s successes in the classroom.
My hope for this teacher is that her enthusiasm and
commitment to education do not fade over the years, but only continue to
blossom. Students benefit from teachers of all ages, who love what they do and
demonstrate it through their actions with students and parents.
Jennifer Caldwell
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In seventh grade I tried out for the school basketball team. I
was tall, fast, and possibly the worst player that ever tried getting a ball to
go through a hoop. On the day when the team lineup was announced, I was sitting
in English class preparing for a writing conference with Ms. Smith. Over the
loudspeaker the coach called those who tried out down to the gymnasium. I didn’t
make it. When I returned to class it was my turn to meet with Ms. Smith about
my latest essay. She asked me if I made the team. I mumbled a plaintive “no.” Calmly,
she said, “That’s all right.” And then she pointed her pen toward my paper,
looked at me, and nodded, as if to say, “But you have this.”
At the time, though I perceived her gesture, I’m not sure that I
fully appreciated what Ms. Smith had done. Years later I realized that her
tacit encouragement, just a simple glance and nod, was possibly the most
formative experience of my writing life.
Jim Ambrosky
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A great teacher can make all the difference in a child’s life, and
the child can make a difference in the teacher’s as well. My daughter has grown
very attached to quite a few of her teachers. She often visits them and thanks
them for showing her strategies that she now applies in her daily learning. One
teacher in particular had every student in class make a book of all the lessons
they did. Every day, she had them tape that day’s lesson into a composition
book. Grace was not a fan of this—the tape needed to be applied in a very
specific way. Grace didn’t see how the book served a purpose. After all, she’s
in eight grade and knows everything. So this book became a Bible for this class
with all its notes very neatly organized. It made studying much easier as every
lesson was in one spot. Grace still had difficulty admitting it was helpful.
Now three years later my youngest son, Billy, has the same teacher. One time,
he was complaining to Grace about having to make the book. I overheard Grace
telling Billy that she now finds the book very helpful, she used it to do her
summer math packet and that she applies the concept to other studies as well.
Alice Maxton
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I grew up in a rural area of southwestern PA and had
learning disabilities that weren’t diagnosed until I was in sixth grade, which
by then I had learned on my own how to compensate for. In high school I was
told by my guidance counselor that I wasn’t smart enough to get into college! I
earned an associate's degree with a B+ average from art school, and am now back
for my bachelor's in fine art with a current 4.0 GPA at the Art Institute of
Pittsburgh.
I am thankful that my daughter has teachers who are
more open to the fact that she might have dyslexia. I had noticed signs early
on when she was spending time with me when I was a stay-at-home mom. Many
people are upset with the No Child Left Behind, PARCC testing, and other
programs. If it wasn't for these programs for the last four years my daughter
wouldn't have had school supplies, backpacks, school lunches, preschool or even
her first year of kindergarten with caring teachers who cried when she
relocated. The world of education is ours if we just embrace it. My principals
in both elementary and high school made me understand that we should never take
for granted access to a free education. I have passed that along to my daughter
who has loved going to school every day since she was three.
Jennifer L. Stevens
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As a new mom, I realized dropping your child off at
daycare is no easy feat. I had a bad case of the “mommy guilts.” In the
beginning most days my daughter would have a death grip on me as the daycare
teacher would gently try to pry her off me, saying, “It’s okay. Mommy has to go
to work.” Then I would walk down the hall, which seemed to get longer and
longer with the echoing of my daughter’s cries of “Mommy.” It is the ultimate
walk of shame. I felt terrible…
After that, all day at work I felt anxious…is she
still crying, is she upset, is she sad…
But I guess that is par for the course in the
daycare world because the teachers at my daughter’s daycare always find clever
ways to make that morning goodbye a good experience and fill her day with
activities and learning.
My separation anxiety in those first few months was
eased by those wonderful teachers. Now when I drop my daughter off, she runs to
the window to watch mommy’s car pull away, and when I pick her up, she runs
into my arms, showing me a picture she colored or telling me about what she did
that day. I might still secretly wish that I could spend all day with her, but
knowing she’s being nurtured and comforted makes my day a whole lot better. I
can’t thank the teachers at my daughter’s daycare enough for giving her a warm,
safe, learning environment and making her mommy feel a few less “guilts.”
Michaela Szidloski
