TEACHER'S CORNER: TEACHER STRESSES NEED TO GIVE KIDS SPECIAL ATTENTION

Sue Ann Smith believes that children need more individual attention now than ever before.

"The world is much more complex today," Smith said, "and is moving at a faster pace.

"The attention that a student receives at school may make a lifelong impression.

"I try to listen to my students when they want to talk to me. It may not seem important to me at the time, but it may be very important to them."

Smith teaches fourth grade at West Lane Elementary School in Jackson where she has taught for 22 years. Her husband, Larry, is a counselor in the Jackson R-2 School District.

A graduate of Rector High School in Rector, Ark., she received a bachelor's degree from Arkansas State University at Jonesboro.

"I enjoy being around people and working with children," Smith said.

"It is very gratifying to know that you have been a small but important part of an individual's life. The greatest reward for me is to see the smile on a child's face when he has mastered a difficult task."

She remembers one incident that she won't forget.

"I told my students that I was 96 years old," she said. "One student actually believed me and sent me a birthday card for my 97th birthday."

Smith's interests include fishing, traveling and gardening.