When I walked into Mrs. Dreyfuss’s room, the first thing I noticed about it was that the walls were covered in the colorful work of the 2nd graders. The room was empty at the moment, but I was already receiving good vibes when I stood in it. The sun streamed through the window slits and it made the room feel warm and full of kindness. Mrs. Dreyfuss walked in and let out a huge sigh of relief after she took the kids to lunch. She looked weary and a little drowsy but over all she had a fun energetic look to her. If I had just glanced at Mrs. Dreyfuss I would assume she’s an ordinary 2nd grade teacher but go deeper and I realized she has had many battles in her life, starting with breast cancer. Fully recovered now, she enjoys teaching her 2nd grade class and sometimes participating in the Susan G. Colman 3 day walk with her dog in training. Mrs. Dreyfuss is a blonde haired, spunky woman and enjoys when she dresses in style. She has a calm look to her and is easygoing about most things, however she does keep her class under control, her kids adore her and most listen to her every word. She speaks her mind when needed and is able to control her class. Mrs. Dreyfuss has been a teacher for 33 years, and in that time she has contributed to Myron B. Green Elementary faithfully for about 20 years.
Mrs. Dreyfuss at her desk, always working on something when not teaching her class.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I've been teaching for 33 years and I like to work with kids, I like to see the light bulb go on, when they realize something.
Why did you decide on 2nd grade?
I didn't, I was in Special Ed and just decided a change and my principal at the school I was at hand picked Green as a job for me to try and that was the opening that was available. I had been teaching Special Ed for 10 years in San Diego and just decided to look at the General Ed perspective. So this was the job opening.
What’s the hardest part about being a second grade teacher?
Preparing for a substitute! You can never walk out the door, shut the door and say the works going to be there tomorrow. You always have to be prepared for a sub or the long hours to prepare the plan, especially in elementary. Its minute by minute not subject where it would be in high school, where you might be teaching multiple classes but you have the same subject, with the same lesson plan. This is minute by minute for the 7 hours. I cant personally leave it with a skeleton lesson plan, I’ve got to make sure that for me I'm planned or over planned so that if something falls apart its not because I wasn't prepared but that just fell apart, because.
Did you ever think you would be a teacher in high school?
No, I wanted to be a dental hygienist! But there was too much science!
Would you ever teach a different grade?
Yeah! I taught Special Ed which was kindergarten through 8th grade, so yeah I wouldn't mind teaching another grade, but right now this is comfortable and I’m probably only going to teach about 5 more years, them I’ll retire!
Really interesting! I especially enjoyed your vived description of Ms Dreyfuss!
ReplyDeleteI never realized how difficult it was to prepare for a substitute!
-michelle(mom)