TEACHER'S CORNER: FOCUS ON STUDENTS' STRENGTHS HELPS TO MOTIVATE THEM, TEACHER SAYS

BENTON -- Judy Hanschen began her teaching career more than 25 years ago in central Illinois, but her experiences were very similar to those she has had for teaching at St. Ambrose School for the past two years.

Hanschen is an itinerant teacher working with students in third through eighth grades. She said her experiences working with special needs students and preschoolers and as a homemaker have helped her become a better educator.

For the first eight years of her career, Hanschen worked primarily with students classified as educably mentally handicapped in a self-contained classroom. She said this experience greatly influenced her teaching philosophy in that she had to focus her attention on the individual and his strengths and weaknesses.

She also learned the importance of bolstering a child's self-image and teaching students that school was a place where success could be obtained, as well as helping each child gain confidence in his ability to learn.

"Today I use some of the philosophy and techniques I have developed over the years," she said. "I enjoy capitalizing on my student's strengths and finding the key that will motivate them to want to learn."

Hanschen took an eight-year hiatus from teaching when she and her husband began having children. However, she kept contact with classrooms by being a room mother, volunteering within their school system and substituting occasionally.

She also worked briefly as director of a preschool at her church. The experiences with special-needs students gave her many ideas that were useful with this age group, she said.

"It was great fun teaching them because they were so enthusiastic," she sad. "I also realized through observations and courses I took that the importance of the role aesthetics plays in a child's development and learning."

Hanschen said the time she has spent in St. Ambrose have taught her the importance of the religious component in parochial schools. Students in self-contained classrooms become very close during their times together, she said. The experiences they gain while worshipping together only adds to that camaraderie, she added.

"I feel the students in our school are given so many opportunities to grow, worship, learn and play together as a community," she said. "The parental involvement and student involvement enhances the academic, social, emotional and spiritual growth of the students."