Sue Weiser Uses a Family-Oriented Approach in Her Randolph Elementary Classroom

Sue Weiser realizes that teaching children whose parents often are away from home and in harm's way presents special challenges - but for 23 years she has risen to meet them, treating her students like "family." She teaches 2nd grade at Randolph Elementary School in Randolph Field ISD.

Her young students learn to deal with the pressures of being military dependents while she helps them soar academically. Her students stay busy in the Big Book Center, the Writing Lab and the Map Center. She provides a rich learning environment in which students can feel safe and can be successful learners. It's a family atmosphere in which students respect and care for one another.

Children need to feel comfortable enough to be risk takers and be allowed to make mistakes. "That's how we learn," she adds. Children are curious about our world and possess such a love for learning. "My job as a teacher is to keep this enthusiasm for knowledge and learning alive in these children so they will become self-directed learners as adults in our society."

One of her techniques is to give them real-life scenarios to solve. She provides rich and varied learning experiences based on each child's needs and interests. Despite their uniqueness, each of them needs love, acceptance and success. She tries to learn about each student's personality and interests. She even writes individual letters to them. What was one of the finest experiences she has had? "One of my students wrote a letter to me at the end of the year and said, ‘I hope I'm just like you when I grow up.’"