TEACHER'S CORNER: MARY SCHROCK TEACHES THE SECOND GRADE AT ST. MARY

CAPE GIRARDEAU - "Education is not quiet," says Mary Schrock, a second grade teacher at St. Mary Cathedral School in Cape Girardeau.

"I like to think that I make education challenging and fun. This is sometimes chaotic and noisy.

"It is the quest for knowledge. There are no set rules and there are no boundaries in the search.

"We simply do what we can to get to the `answer.'"

Schrock has taught at St. Mary's for six years. Her teaching also extends to the gymnasium where she is the assistant coach of volleyball. She also coaches the CYC volleyball team and enjoys playing the game herself.

"Realizing that you are human" is how Schrock describes the greatest challenge in education today.

"I once heard a speaker say that the average teacher makes 10,000 decisions a day," Schrock recalls. "The hours are not 9 to 5. There are teachers at school before 7 and still here by 5 if not later.

"Besides the daily teaching, and the long hours at home doing lesson plans and grading papers, there are more expectations of teachers.

"These include continuing education, the special committees and helping with other areas in the parish."

Schrock feels it is not possible to be everything for everyone.

"Every day a teacher walks into the classroom with 25 or more separate individuals who all have special needs and wants," she said.

"A teacher must decide what is possible and what is not possible."

Schrock remembers a few events in her career.

"I was trying to teach children to tap their feet while rehearsing for a school play," she said.

"I stood on the desk because the students were having trouble seeing my feet. That's when the principal walked in to give me a message.

"Imagine how I explained the situation. These types of situations seem to happen every day in my classroom.

"We've been at war with the sixth grade. We had a wedding complete with a ceremony and a reception. We gave each other avocado facials while studying seeds."