Medford, Ore.– “[You hear] teachers touch the hearts of many lives, well I feel like the opposite. I feel like they touch my life every single day.”
Kaylese Smith is in the middle of her second year as a first grade teacher at Kid’s Unlimited in Medford.
“It’s so fun to come to work and just to be able to love the kids and to help them and to be there for them,” says Kaylese. “To be a safe place for them.”
While the first grade covers a range of educational topics and skills, Kaylese’s basic lesson plan for the school year is simple. It’s also her biggest passion.
“Getting to teach them about kindness,” she says.
One of the students chimes in, “Don’t be selfish, be selfless.”
Kaylese says, “When they have that deep understanding of kindness then they can change the world with that.”
She also believes that a fun creative classroom makes for the best learning backdrop.
“I love to have fun and so I y to bring that into the classroom. We like to dance with each other and they are hilarious!” says Kaylese.
For her, putting a smile on her student’s faces is a daily goal, but the smiles they bring her is the real reward.
“They are so young, but they have such big hearts,” she explains. “It’s so cool to get to be their teacher. Such a blessing.”
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