Teacher’s Name: Tracey Iglehart

Grade You Teach: Kindergarten

Number of Years You’ve Been Teaching: 4

Alma Mater: University of North Dakota-BS in Geography and Mills College, Masters in Early Childhood Education and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential

Favorite Book: Just one? The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel is a beautifully written book.

Favorite place to travel to, real or imagined: Believe it or not, North Dakota.

What made you decide to be a teacher? I’m very interested in the social-emotional development of children, which is probably why I like teaching Kindergarten. It is important to me that children have adults in their lives that treat them with respect and to help them learn how to grow emotionally. I also love passing on knowledge. I worked at a bicycle shop before I became a teacher and my favorite customers where always the ones who didn’t think they knew how to ride a bike. Teaching somebody anything is a gift for both the student and the teacher.

I find teaching most rewarding when: My students are using what they learn in the classroom to discover things on their own. One of my favorite moments from this year happened when a parent visited the classroom with his banjo. A student was trying to describe the banjo, but couldn’t remember the word for the idea he had formed. He went over to the Science center where we had been “playing” with solid objects for several weeks. He found a paper cup and read the label on the box that listed the cup’s properties. Then he came back, sat down, raised his hand and told us, “A banjo is hollow.”

I would describe my teaching philosophy as: Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.

The funniest thing about teaching: The kids! I love to see the world through their eyes. They always have amazing insights that never fail to help me put things in perspective.