Klamath Falls, Ore.– Sometimes it takes a teacher to make a difference in a child’s life. All month we are honoring teachers who are impacting our community and inspiring their students.
Nicole Pryor, a fifth grade teacher at Peterson Elementary in Klamath Falls, turned her memories
of being a struggling student into fuel to be a become a better teacher.
“I did not enjoy going to school when I was younger and I struggled,” Pryor recalls. “I just felt like there was a way to teach kids and have them enjoy learning in a different approach.”
That’s why she takes special care with each of her students.
“We as people want our strengths to be noticed,” Pryor explains. “They also want their strengths to be noticed,” she says of her students.
Unlike her own classroom experiences, Pryor is implementing an environment that emphasizes and celebrates individuality.
For her that means, “Just really learning my students and who they are as a person and then going in to the education part.”
Showing the students in her class that they bring unique strengths to the table helps her create a safe place for her kids to learn.
“When you compliment or point out, they shine and then they just grow,” she says. “Now that we’ve got this bond going and you trust me, let me teach you.”
While she’s working hard to give her students the skills they need to succeed, she also finds that learning can go both ways.
She says, “They definitely are teaching me as well. It’s pretty amazing to see that.”
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