Educators ready to do it again

By Bob Stuart

Published: August 18, 2008

Wilson Memorial High physical education teacher Steve Geiman is celebrating 40 years in the profession, and as he starts a new school year today, his basic philosophy of teaching has not changed.
“The key for me is I try to make connections with kids,’’ said Geiman, who offered a seminar for new Augusta County teachers on classroom management two weeks ago. “Once you connect and really love and care for them, you can do anything as far as being able to teach.”
Wenonah Elementary fourth-grade teacher Jessica Skeens, a former accountant,  said after seven years, teaching is still a daily adventure.
“You get to meet new kids, experience their lives and meet their needs,’’ said Skeens, who teaches reading, writing, math and science at the Waynesboro elementary school.

School starts for teachers and students today in Augusta County and on Wednesday in Waynesboro and Staunton. Nelson County began its new school year Monday.
Education experts say teaching has become more sophisticated to serve the differing learning needs of individual students.
But they say teachers need more mentoring from master teachers,  a better career path so they don’t have to opt for jobs as administrators and flexibility so they can do their job.
Mary Baldwin College education professor Jim Harrington said today’s teachers recognize that students learn differently.
“They realize ... they have an obligation to find out how students learn best,’’ said Harrington, who coordinates Mary Baldwin’s post-baccalaureate teacher licensure program and also teaches in the master of arts teaching program. “It requires you to think of each individual student in your class.”
Skeens said she uses small-group activities for four to five students when the students need more attention.
Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, the president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based education advocacy group, said the latest education research shows students learn as many as seven to eight different ways.
He said teachers need the training to understand “one size doesn’t fit all,’’ and the mentoring from master teachers so they can continue to develop.
Wise said teachers frequently leave the classroom because they lack a professional mentor to partner and advise them.
The need for mentoring is being looked at more across the country, Wise said.
While the increased assessment of students required by the federal No Child Left Behind law is time-consuming, Wise said the law’s intention is noble.
But he said there needs to be more of a balance between testing and teaching.
He said No Child’s goal of asking students to be proficient in math and English is basic and appropriate, “because it is hard to communicate’’ in the other areas if you do not understand the two core subjects.
But Wise said a balance is needed so teachers still have the flexibility to teach and use strategies to help students learn.
“Good assessments mean getting the data quickly. They should not be used in a punitive way, but they should be used in a positive way so they can be a teaching tool,’’ he said.
School districts have hired more assessment personnel to track testing, and are using strategies to improve scores. But No Child has escalating pass targets that hit 100 percent by 2013-14.
Skeens said she looks for creative ways to meet Virginia’s Standards of Learning requirements and tries not to get too focused on students taking tests.
“You can still find time to do fun stuff,’’ Skeens said.
Geiman continues to teach at an age when many of his contemporaries have retired.
He said the job is the key for him.
“I’ve got to have this job for my own benefit,’’ he said.
As for the start of classes, Geiman said, “I’m ready for the school year to start.”
“I like the socialization of teaching and being around the kids,’’ he said.