Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 14, 1994                   TAG: 9501120001
SECTION: NEWSFUN                    PAGE: NF3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TEACHER OF WEEK

Fourth grade

South Salem Elementary School

A teacher who doesn't believe in giving a lot of homework? Most kids would give anything to have a teacher like that.

And if the kids in Sheila Harrison's fourth-grade class are like most, they're a lucky bunch. Harrison says she believes her pupils' homes and family lives are more important than homework.

Harrison, who has been teaching for 19 years, has taught first, second and fourth grades. She says her favorite thing about elementary school-aged kids is that they make every day different; she never knows what to expect from the kids next.

"Mrs. Harrison is very trusting, and settles everything fairly," said the pupil who nominated her. "I care about the kids as people, not just as students," Harrison says.

Harrison leads a full life outside of school. She is the mother of two girls and enjoys running, walking and aerobics.