10/02/09 - Chester County
Sharon Miller is the
quintessential kindergarten teacher, exciting her students
to embrace their first experience in the classroom. The
last five years of Miller's three decades in the
classroom has been at West Chester County Elementary School
in Henderson.
Miller's combination of passion
and patience has allowed her to excel with her
pupils. "They're easy to love, they're funny," Miller said.
"They are interesting, every day's different. You come to
work and you don't know what's going to happen."
After 30 years,she has come to
expect the unexpected when dealing with five-year-olds. It
is not just the students keeping Miller on her toes, but the
curriculum. She said that teaching kindergarteners has
evolved. "We used to just teach the
children how to get along with each other, how to count,"
Miller said. "Now, we're teaching them to read."
While she was being honored as
this week's Tennessee Education Lottery Educator of the
Week, she was quick to pass praise to her class assistant,
Girtie Arnold. Mrs. Girtie is a foster grandparent who
Miller said plays a pivotal role in her classroom.
"They work with individual
students in art, in individual reading and they help
students that need extra help," Miller said.
Miller appreciates the help,
because with so much experience she knows the students
will ultimately benefit. She believes she is still living out the ideals that
initially sent her down this career path. "I just love
children and enjoyed working with them and I felt like I
could do some good."