Three fictional teaching heroes in my life

-

I posted a while ago about my real-life teaching heroes. Recently, some fictional teaching heroes have been brought to my mind, and here they are:

1.      Jessica Day


Her quirky, unconventional ways are a strength to her teaching practice. She always seems to care more than the other employees at her school, and she fights hard for her kids (except that time she ruined the science project of a 6th-grade bully…but that was also because she cared!). She also has a wonderful fashion sense and singing voice that I would love to emulate one day.

2.      Miss Honey


Miss Honey is the only adult in Matilda’s life that believes in and advocates for her. Miss Honey stands up to Matilda’s deadbeat parents and the insane headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. Miss Honey actually loves children, and they love her. “Miss Jennifer Honey was a mild and quiet person who never raised her voice and was seldom seen to smile, but there is no doubt she possessed that rare gift for being adored by every small child under her care.” Roald Dahl.

2.      Ms. Frizzle


This teacher really brings “hands-on” and “interactive” learning to the next level. With all of those field trips to different places and even the ability to shrink, I am definitely jealous of Ms. Frizzle’s class! Another thing that I appreciate about Ms. Frizzle is that she doesn’t give out the “right” answer right away. She lets the students experiment and figure it out by creating and answering new questions along the way. Her carefree and whimsical nature is something each of us teachers could learn from. Also, she has a trusty pet iguana (so cool!), and an educational-yet-fashionable clothing line that I adore!

Can you think of any fictional teaching heroes?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holiday Classroom Traditions

-
Image
   My first year teaching, I came to the conclusion that if I got ONE cool thing accomplished for the kids in relation to the winter holidays, that would suffice. Of course I saw the other more seasoned teachers around me practically busting at the seams with cute ideas, crafts and fun activities. But I gave myself permission to be low-key because it was my first year.     My second year (now), I have so much more ideas, but I need to keep expectations realistic. There are some tried-and-true holiday classroom traditions that I’ve done both this year and last year, and I am here to share them with you! Every teacher and every class is different, so don’t worry about doing it ALL. Find the things you are most passionate about or that you think your group would enjoy the most. 1.                           1. Holidays around the world. This is a common social studies extension done in elementary grades. My first-grade team is also taking part in this. We will be doing a day of switc
Read more

How to Achieve a Quiet, Orderly Class Start

-
Image
In my last post, I detailed why a calm, organized start to the school day or class period is necessary. I made it a priority to always get this down, and as a result had really effective starts and positive feedback from administrators. Here I hope to cut through the vagueness and give you concrete ideas on how to implement this.  Actually, when I implement anything, I follow a similar pattern. First, you have to realize that the set-up and practice is worth the long-term gain. You have to change your mindset-- this time of day isn't just something that passively happens. Something that just occurs. Sometimes it's great, other times, not so much. Reframe it to be a crucial part of your classroom learning time. It's worth the work up front.   1. Solidify the steps in your mind, first. Sit down and visualize, in detail, what a quiet start looks like to you. I encourage you to have high expectations for your students while also acknowledging age-appropriateness. It's prob
Read more

Gifts and such

-
Image
It's the most wonderful time of the year! The kids are making ornaments, getting glitter everywhere, and covering everything in chocolate, but it's okay because a mere three weeks stand between the first day after Thanksgiving break and a glorious winter break! It is around this time of year that I jovially reflect on the strange assortment of gifts I've received from students. I've only been a real teacher for a year, but these are some of the quirky takeaways:                                   Yes, that's right: a fashionable nutcracker and a grandma mug! Let me offer up a memory of when I was a student. My mother gave me a package of Ferrero Rocher chocolates to give my first-grade teacher for Christmas. When the glorious moment of me giving them to her arrived, she opened them and exclaimed, "Chocolates!? Now I really won't be able to fit in the door!" As a child-- and, admittedly, sometimes as an adult-- I didn't process sar
Read more