Teacher of the Week: Focus on Fourth Grade
by Michael Shouse
February 01, 2008
This week the spotlight is on Sharon Grommet. She has been teaching for thirty-five years and still enjoys coming to work to see the smiles on the faces of her students. Some of her favorite things to do when not teaching include: reading, sewing and playing on the computer. When asked what inspired her to teach she replied, "My family inspired me. Education was a high priority in the Mayfield household, which came first above anything else." She said even in grade school she knew she wanted to be a teacher, because no other career sounded right for her or attracted her.
Some of the things she dislikes about teaching are the constant preparation for state testing and No Child Left Behind. It seems like a lot of time is spent preparing for the state tests, and that leaves little time to do fun things like art projects that students always enjoy doing.
When asked what advice she would give to someone interested in teaching, Mrs. Grommet said "you have to like kids, going to school everyday, and going back to college for more degrees. If you can't do that then teaching isn't for you." Finally, when asked, "What makes you get up in the morning and go to your job?" she replied, "The reason I get up every morning is for the kids. They depend on me to be there every day, because if I am not there then skills do not get taught the way that I want them taught. The students end up suffering in the long haul. Parents depend on me to do my job the best that I can."
