Former reporter Eric Smith brings real-life learning to Judson ISD pre-K students

Eric Smith is not your usual pre-kindergarten teacher, because he spent 10 years as a reporter before finding his passion in the Paschall Elementary classroom three short years ago. He says he is very fortunate to go to a job every day that he loves – the highlight of his day is teaching these young children.

He is the first teacher most of his students will experience. The day we visited his classroom, he was teaching the life cycle of the butterfly, and students had already learned that he was talking about "metamorphosis." The thing they may not realize is they are undergoing a very similar process in Smith's classroom, as they start off their academic life being instilled with their teacher's love of learning.

"My main goal is for each child to develop individual skills and help him or her become a lifelong learner. As they leave here and move on to kindergarten, they will keep the ball rolling to keep learning. We develop building blocks for learning that we use for life," said Smith.

In addition to pre-K, Smith also works with fourth grade students in a journalism club he began. These students write the school newsletter, and they have responded passionately to the challenge of interviewing. 'Reporting is an important skill for life – to be able to tell something," Smith says.

'My writing helped me get scholarships in college. Writing is an important tool that we all need and this journalism club shows these kids how they can write in different ways. It's been such a rewarding experience working with these kids. They put so much effort into their writing."

Eric Smith has landed right where he feels he should be. He's encouraging students to spread their wings and fly.