Teachers play an important role in shaping students into who they are today. They aren’t just educators, but also role-models, mentors, and guides. Mrs. Simon, a third grade teacher at St. Marks, plays this role amazingly. She always works hard to do what is best for her students. Mrs. Simon helps her students to succeed not only academically, but socially.

Mrs. Simon has been teaching for 10 years throughout different schools. She has taught at St. Joe Ost, Garden Plain, and now St. Marks. She says that her first year of teaching is her most memorable moment in her career, since she was so excited to have her own classroom. She loved making her dreams become a reality during this time. Mrs. Simon has learned a lot through her failures as a first year teacher, but she persevered into making the best memories with that group of kids.

Mrs. Simon can be known for her open and fun environments in her classroom, along with getting more than just academic information out of it. The way that she teaches her third graders is open and calming for their young age. She says that her teaching style has to do with being transparent. She has high expectations, but she tries to be as transparent with them as possible. Mrs. Simon also teaching material that helps better herself and her students. She hopes that her students don’t just learn academics, but also how to become a more true version of themselves.

When Mrs. Simon taught 5th grade, they did a project in Social Studies that involved colonies. During this project, her students would create their own colonies inside a bubble. Mrs. Simon loved to see her student’s creativity and how they used teamwork. The students used the content they learned in her lessons when deciding how to make their colonies. This project was a review for the unit, so Mrs. Simon and her students spent about a week planning and brainstorming for this project. At the end, different grades got to see and tour the fifth grader’s colonies. This project gave the students the ability to use their knowledge to make something with their own creativity. With anything, there is some roadblocks, which is time in this case. With the short amount of time they had, Mrs. Simon made sure to give small deadlines through the project to make sure everyone is on the right track.

Mrs. Simon is not only a great teacher, but a role-model and mentor. She makes sure that her students can understand what she’s teaching, as well as having fun and being entertained in the process. In conclusion, Mrs. Simon shows dedication, passion, and commitment which are qualities needed in a great teacher. She has the belief that each of her students can succeed, and she wants to help them get to that point. Mrs. Simon has undoubtedly left a lasting impact on the lives of those that she has taught. She stands as a shining example of the power of education.