TEACHER'S CORNER: TEACHER FEELS CHILDREN TEACH VALUABLE LESSONS

JACKSON -- Five-year teaching veteran Tina Kight believes teaching is fascinating. Kight, a third grade teacher at North Elementary School in Jackson, said she can't remember a time when she didn't want to be a teacher.

"I enrolled in college as an elementary education major and never wavered in my decision," she said. "I am fortunate to thoroughly love my work.

Kight said she enjoys being an elementary educator because "children teach valuable lessons to those around them." For example, children forgive easily and seldom hold grudges, and they know the importance of play and laughter, Kight said.

Providing educational and challenging activities keeps Kight busy each day. As an educational break, she allows students to design the reading lessons during the last two weeks of school. Students also are allowed to design enrichment activities and skill lessons, which enables them to select a high-interest subject that motivates them at a time when interest in school activities naturally wanes, she said.

"Last year, we cooked a full cowboy-style breakfast, complete with homemade biscuits, sausage and stewed raisins," she said. "We also designed a cowboy vest and put on a skit about life on another planet."

Kight believes educators are lucky because they get to witness success often. Few other professions allow individuals to see such immediate results, she said.

"In a classroom of 24 children, the opportunity to see such moments naturally increases," she said.

Kight is an avid reader and shopper. She also enjoys attending workshops and surfing the World Wide Web to find new educational products and ideas. She is a little league soccer and baseball mom.