09/04/09- Weakley County
9:51 a.m.
This
week's Tennessee Education Lottery
Educator of the Week goes to a
teacher who has been in Weakley
County classrooms for the last 10
years. Karen McCartney has spent
nine of those years teaching fifth
graders at Greenfield School.
Throughout her 15-year career, which
began in Alabama, McCartney has had the
opportunity to teach or substitute
teach in every grade. She said
when she arrived in Greenfield she
found a home in fifth grade.
"They're just at the right age,
because they're not little babies
anymore," McCartney said. "They're
starting to mature, but they haven't
quite reached the teenage years."
McCartney said the beginning of
the school year is an exciting time
and it poses many challenges to both
her and her students. "You don't
know the children coming in, so we
do a lot of getting to know you
activities and learn their
personalities," McCartney said.
"It's
a gradual process for them to learn
my routines and the way we do things
in fifth grade, because it's a big
adjustment from fourth grade,"
McCartney said.
She acknowledged the difficulties of transitioning to another grade she said that is a part of her motivation to make the classroom comfortable. "I always wanted to be the kind of teacher that kids could come to and ask questions of," McCartney said. "I wanted it to be a relaxed atmosphere."
She acknowledged the difficulties of transitioning to another grade she said that is a part of her motivation to make the classroom comfortable. "I always wanted to be the kind of teacher that kids could come to and ask questions of," McCartney said. "I wanted it to be a relaxed atmosphere."
Those
were the classroom qualities that
she learned from several of the
teachers who inspired her growing
up. Those
elements led her to devote
her career to having a positive
impact on children, and she hopes
she passes on the same inspiration
to her kids.