T is for teacher story 14: the enthusiasm of second graders

Today, I am sharing a teacher story. Frances Reid teaches at Huth Road Elementary School. In this conversation, we talk about learning and about what it’s like to be a teacher. She talks about the beauty of connecting with young students, who are enthusiastic to learn new things.

First of all, you teach at Huth Road School, and you teach second grade?

Yes.

Tell me what motivated you to be a teacher. Did you always want to be a teacher or did you have other career dreams?

I think that I wanted to be a lot of things when I was a kid. I wanted to be a writer, and I still do.  But I think that it was my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Burton, who really inspired me to want to be a teacher. She made learning fun. She had fun, cool ways to remember things, and I wanted to pass that on to some kids of my own.

Could you give examples of the fun ways to remember things?

We were learning about the explorers so she told us that Balboa took a bubble bath in the Pacific Ocean. And Ponce de Leon. We pictured him jumping on a lion because his name was Leon, but it was really an alligator. And we remember that he discovered Florida.

And Ponce sounds like pounce.

And to remember the periodic table of elements, AU can mean them gold chains. And, when you get older, your hair turns silver, and it spells AGE for age, but it is AG. Some mnemonic devices.

It’s like music, where I remember FACE for the treble clef. That’s a good way to learn.

Every Good Boy Does Fine.

So you decided to be a teacher. Was it after fifth grade?

It was that year. My teacher did a writers’ workshop back when it was brand new. We were a pilot class. So a lot of reading and a lot of writing.

That sounds like a lot of fun.

Mmm-hmm.

So, where did you go to college?

I went to Buff State for one year. Then I moved out to Michigan, and I went to Oakland University, but I knew that I was coming back here. I arranged to do my student teaching through Buff State. I ended up student teaching at Huth Road.

When did you student teach?

It was the spring of 2001. I student taught in fifth grade. Then I started subbing after graduation in May. I finished out the year subbing here in Grand Island.

Were you living in Grand Island at the time?

I was living in West Seneca at the time. I live in Lancaster now.

So tell me about subbing here. Was it only at this school or all over the district?

I subbed at Sidway once, but they needed me here because Betty King back then had some heart problems or surgery and they needed me to fill in for the last two week.

So did you work in any other district before you came here?

No, I student taught here and then I subbed here. Peggy Koppmann (the former principal) got to know me. She gave me a call over the summer when they were looking for someone to fill in for Betty King. This was a full year so I had my first year of teaching as a long-term sub. That was third grade.

How did you like teaching third grade?

I loved it. They love learning. They’re not old enough to be wise guys. They are still young and cute, and they love learning.

When did you get placed here on a permanent basis?

For the following year, they had opened up a position. I had to go through the interview process. By that time, it was the spring of 2002 that I went through that whole process, and I got hired.

Were you teaching third grade or were you hired for a different grade?

Yes, I was placed in third grade. I continued teaching third grade, and I taught third grade for ten years.

How long have you been teaching second grade?

This is my seventh year now. I went from ten years of third to seven years of second.

Tell me what you like about second grade.

I think that it’s just their love of learning. They love you as a teacher. They love to be here, and they love school. They love learning. They love reading stories. I think that it’s really the kids. They make it the great job that it is.

Can you give me an example of a positive experience that you’ve had lately? Something that you’ve done with the kids that they’ve really enjoyed?

We did a lesson on fact and opinion. It was a detective lesson. They all got a case file in their little groups and they had to read the facts and the opinions of the witnesses. They had to sort through the facts. They had to differentiate between fact and opinion and figure out who committed the crime. They loved it so much that they asked can we do more? When you see the kids involved and asking for more, you know that you have a good lesson plan.

Do you have any other roles that you play at school?

I’m the grade level chair so I participate in a lot of meetings.

Tell me what it’s like to be a grade level chair.

You have a little extra responsibility and attend extra meetings in the building with the principal and also in the district office, where we assemble with all of the grade level chairs throughout the district. We work on the shared decision making things. Report back to your grade level; report to the higher ups. So you do a little more planning with things such as field trips.  I like it because I know what’s going on.

Have the kids had any interesting field trips lately?

We went to the Theater of Youth in March to see June B. Jones is not a crook performed on stage so they got to see a book brought to life. They enjoyed that.

Tell me a little about that.

We got to tie in some other things, too, because we’ve been learning about communities: rural, urban, and suburban. So we talked about how we were driving into an urban community, into Buffalo. We got to dress up and go to the theater so we talked about the proper way. Not all of them had been exposed to the theater. Some of them had been there before but, for others, it was their first time. They got to see it and it was great. Afterwards, after the performance, the actors sat on the stage and were themselves, instead of acting in character, and they answered questions on how to put on the production. The kids got to see that there was a back stage crew and everything that goes into something like that.

That sounds really cool.

When you’re not here teaching, what are some of the things that you like to do best?

I’ve really been interested in ancestry research lately. I did one of those 23 and me tests lately, where it tells you where your ancestors came from.

You’re all human? I’ve been wondering about mine.

Well, they put Neanderthal in there, which is part human. Yes, they’re all human. I renewed my Ancestry.com account so I could work on my trees. I’ve been doing that in my spare time a little bit.

And are you married?

Yes.

And what’s your husband’s name?

Jacob. We were just married in June.

Do you have kids?

I do. I have a daughter. Her name is Brooke. She is thirteen years old. I have two step children. I have Sebastian, who is fifteen, and Carly, who is thirteen.

So tell me what it’s like to be the parent of teenagers.

You need a lot of patience. You need a lot of firm discipline. You need to be up to date with technology because they are on their phones all of the time. You need to keep up with every new app. Even the language. They say things and you’re thinking, “What is that?”  Sebastian says, “I’m the GOAT!”

Oh. Greatest of All Time.

I didn’t know that.  How can you keep up with this stuff.

Yes, because usually the goat was the idiot.

In Minecraft, they put those sheep in.

Is there anything that you would like to add that I didn’t ask?

I think that Huth Road is a wonderful school. It’s a great place to work. The faculty is great. The parents are great. I really enjoy it. I feel that I made the right career choice

So if you had to do it over again, you would do the same thing.

Absolutely.