Teresa Belcher teaches young children at Cinderella Early Childhood Center in West Virginia. Teresa's administrator, Verna Smith, nominated her for "always using best practices." I was able to learn more about her best practices when she sat down with me to share her experiences in the classroom.
How did you get your start as a teacher?
I moved to West Virginia in 1989 and needed some help with my daughter. She was three at the time and has Down syndrome. I enrolled my daughter into the local Head Start program and stayed involved through the parent committees, volunteering, and riding the bus with the children. I took some classes to get more involved and the instructor let me know about a Family Development Specialist position. That’s when I started working in a center. I’ve had several positions with Head Start both in teaching and as a home visitor.
What’s your favorite part about being a teacher?
I love being around the kids. They are so innocent and always make me laugh. I also love reading. I always think I might have been a librarian if I didn’t go into teaching.
When were you introduced to the CLASS tool?
My administrator sent me and one other teacher in our center to a CLASS Observation Training several years ago. So now I’m reliable on the CLASS tool and maintain my certification every year.
How has CLASS helped you in the classroom?
I watch a lot of the CLASS videos that are available. I feel like when I talk to the children, I can model what I’ve seen in the videos.
I’ve also noticed that I have an easier time dealing with difficult behaviors. I needed to change my attitude and how I respond to children and CLASS has helped me do that. I’ve seen a direct impact in my classroom. I have a child this year who would kick and hit other children when he got frustrated. He would kick the wall and shelf and would not stay in his seat during mealtimes. During large group he would run around the room and knock blocks off the shelf. I remembered a video that I had watched from the CLASS Video Library once and did some research on how to help the student manage his behavior. I wrote a scripted story using his pictures and writing as if he was saying the words, such as "I will listen to my teachers," "I will not run in the classroom," "I will not hit my friends," and so forth. I also used Tucker Turtle from CSEFEL. I read him the story and gave him a small turtle to hold to remind him what he should be doing while he was sitting. It really helped a lot. He still has some days that he gets angry and might kick a shelf, but he has calmed down so much, and he sits at the table and doesn't hurt his friends. He comes to me to let me know if someone takes something from him.
Being trained and reliable in the CLASS tool has really helped me to become a better teacher. I feel it has helped me specifically with feedback loops, scaffolding, and back-and-forth exchanges. I’ve noticed that I’m a lot more conscious of what I do and say in the classroom and how I react in the classroom. I want my classroom to run like a well-oiled machine!
What do you think your strongest dimension is?
Teacher Sensitivity or Positive Climate.
What's the most challenging dimension for you?
Concept Development or Language Modeling. I’ve really been working on Language Modeling and using more varied vocabulary in my conversations. I’m still pretty self-conscious in these areas.
What advice would you share with your fellow teachers?
Find resources to help you. There are lots out there.
And enjoy the kids! Understand that these are young children. They might not know how to deal with their emotions or understand social rules. Be patient and work with them at their level.
