The Connections Teachers Make with Their Students
From the Desk of Mary Keever
I hope you have experienced some gladness in your day. I certainly have experienced gladness in my educational journey through the years and recently during my current adventures into the classrooms at WCDS.
In my last post, I recounted the undeniably powerful connection I experienced with my third grade teacher, Ms. Patricia Risher, as well as the undeniable talent of our Wildcat third grade teachers, Nancy Martin and Christiana Conrad, and assistant Tracy Gill.
My fourth grade adventures were transformational while introducing me to a new kind of teacher: Mrs. Monroe was a no-nonsense, rigorous teacher who threw chalk or an eraser at you if you weren’t paying attention. I was terrified at first, as all of my previous experiences had been warm and fuzzy. My fear was allayed once we found a common connection: the love of a story. It was Mrs. Monroe who first planted the seed of the importance of writing as an outlet in my life. She displayed love through attention and positive reinforcement of skills.
Our Wildcat duo of Ms. Trisha Caviness and Mrs. Jane Driver is equally impressive.
Ms. Caviness has jumped head-first into all things Wildcat Nation! Much like Mrs. Monroe, she is establishing solid reading and writing skills in her students: making predictions about the text and making text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections. She asks high-level questions that challenge students to reflect, such as, "What would you do if you were Marty?" and "What character trait does that show?" "What would the dad argue?" and "Can you show me what flustered might look like?" She empowers them to engage with their tablemates to discuss moral dilemmas. She reminds them with motivating words, such as, "That's what good readers do." With her praise, students are quick and proud to identify similes that paint a picture in their minds. Ms. Caviness is a master teacher for sure.
It is a great day to be a fourth grade Wildcat creating a foldable to learn with Mrs. Driver! #WCDSHead pic.twitter.com/v8gh0QwUI5
— Head | Westchester Country Day School (@WCDS_Head) January 30, 2024
With 34 years of service to WCDS under her belt, Mrs. Jane Driver demonstrates devotion to our Wildcat Nation. She is a serious teacher who does not take herself too seriously. The rapport she creates with students is fantastic. Students are comfortable, confident, and relaxed in their learning as she peppers instruction with personal stories and comments, as well as self-deprecating remarks. Her use of humor to model making mistakes and taking safe risks is natural and important; students hear her talking about needing help or a resource to know how to spell a word, and they recognize they can do the same. Giggles are heard often as she shares stories and makes learning fun by referring to their math notebook table of contents as the Table of Nonsense. Mrs. Driver makes life more fun!
I look forward to sharing my memories of all my teachers in this blog, as well as highlighting some of the gladness displayed by our Wildcat Nation teachers.
 | Mary Keever Follow @WCDS_Head |
