Mrs. Melinda Abbott graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor’s degree in Social work.  She worked in long-term care for special needs adults and children before earning her certificate and Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Cabrini College in Radnor, PA.  She is a member of the graduate honor society Kappa Gamma Pi.  Her student teaching was completed with honors in Pennsylvania’s Methacton and North Penn School Districts.  She taught kindergarten in the North Penn School District, then moved to Evergreen, Colorado, where she taught gifted and talented enrichment and kindergarten.  Mrs. Abbott moved to Howard County in 2000, and is in her third joyful year teaching third grade at Northfield Elementary School.

How has the way you teach changed over the course of your career? What lessons have you learned?

The curriculum has become more academic since I started teaching, and there is more time and emphasis on testing, but the way I approach teaching has essentially remained the same: I focus on each individual child and spend the first few days every year bonding with each child in my class.
 
I am more familiar with ever-changing curriculum.  I ask more experienced teachers for specific ideas on how to reach the child who still hasn’t mastered a concept after the usual approach.  I have also learned that the teacher is not the only person who must work hard.  I communicate regularly with families of my students and strongly encourage the practice of basic math facts at home.

What advice would you give to a teacher who's starting their first year and feels overwhelmed?

You will survive!  You will be OK, and so will your students.  Find a mentor or mentors.  This does not need to be someone in your upward chain of supervision, although it can be.  There are many knowledgeable, experienced, and caring people in schools.  I have asked mentors for specific suggestions or “tricks” for teaching a particular lesson, recommendations for class novels, and the answer to the question, “what do I need to know to do well on this unit?” 

Also, take vitamins, wash your hands, clean your keyboard and desktop, and get enough sleep when there’s a virus going around your class.  Surround yourself with positive people.  You will not be able to do everything you want to do that first year, so choose your top three or so priorities and stick to them. 

What do you think the biggest challenge that teachers face today is, and why? How do you meet it?

The amount of classroom time required for standardized testing is discussed in an article in Phi Delta Kappan titled, "Classroom Crisis: It’s About Time."  The same issue appears again and again in current professional literature.  While much can be learned from assessment, it also follows that every moment spent on testing is a moment not spent on instruction and learning. 

While there is currently an emphasis on designing schools to emulate business models, there is a qualitative difference between the two institutions.   In education, we are not producing a business product.  We are educating children. 

I personally deal with this challenge by remembering that the pendulum swings in education, and an overemphasis in one area is usually responded to.  I try to remember that the test scores are not the goal, but are one small measure of the much more important goal of helping each child to learn the curriculum and to love to learn.

How do you keep your students engaged in the classroom?

One way to keep your students engaged is to know them and something about their interests so that you can personalize the lessons.  If you know children who love a sport, create or have them create a sports application. 

Provide choices.  If students are required to demonstrate mastery of a concept, you can offer them options, such as writing, presenting an oral report, performing, video, or even a drawing, depending on the topic.  Remember to provide the rubric, or criteria for success, with the assignment, and don’t provide so many choices that it’s too difficult to grade.  Provide opportunities to change positions, move about, interact, and manipulate objects during lessons. 

Have fun!  If you enjoy the children, the lessons, your team, and your school, chances are your students will, too.