R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me...

And this week, I got a great lesson in respect from a wonderful first-grade teacher here in the county. I will be filling in for her when she has her baby in a few weeks, so I spent a couple of days this past week observing and trying to remember all that she does during the day to keep her class going. Not only has she given me six-eight weeks of wonderful lesson plans (THANK YOU!!), but she also taught me great ways to interact with the children in a positive way and how to handle negative issues in a manner that does not shame the child, yet reminds him/her to make good choices.

For example, how she calls roll...instead of just blurting out the child's name and expecting a hand raised or a small voice yelling "here" or "present", she says "Good morning, Mr. or Ms. So-and-so" and the child is expected to LOOK at her and respond, "Good morning, Ms. (name)". This to me is a wonderful way to not only remind a child of his/her manners, but to show them they matter to the teacher by the respectful way she addresses them. I'm so impressed that I will do my best to carry on this tradition as well as others I have learned this week!

Respect....not always something we think about until we see such a great example that it has to be pointed out.