Hannah Platt considered teaching when she was a student. Platt is a new fourth grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary.
During her senior year at Iola High School, 2005-06, Platt mentored students at McKinley Elementary and found the experience so rewarding that it decided her course of study in college.
Following two years at Allen Community College, she enrolled in elementary education at Ottawa University, a college she picked because it was small and gave her an at-home feeling.
“I learned a lot” during the mentoring experience, Platt said.
She spent her senior semester at Ottawa student-teaching in the Central Heights (Richmond) district, which fortified Platt’s decision to make teaching her career.
Being able to return home to teach was icing on the cake.
“WE DO a lot,” Platt observed of her daily routine.
Platt said this age group has a good handle on most of the core subjects. Even so, ongoing review of what they have learned is very much a part of the educational process.
So are some things that a few years ago might have come as a surprise in an elementary classroom.
“We’re learning to write from 1 to 10 in Japanese,” she said.
“It’s part of Grandfather’s Journey,” the textbook for language arts, Platt said. Foreign language interludes are meant to pique the students’ interest beyond everyday occurrences.
In science, Platt has introduced cell structures of plants and animals. In math, “we’re studying polygons,” she said, “but we still practice the basics in math.”
Social studies discussions include state and national events, but, Platt said, “We’re keeping politics out of it.”
PLATT REVELS in unexpected positives that surface in the classroom, and enjoys opportunities to share.
