THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9406140150
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940616 LENGTH: Medium
Her speech was animated as she paced the room, instructing her Azalea Garden Middle School students on the secrets of public speaking. A pat on the back here, a nudge there and an occasional hug reassured the students that their teacher cared and believed in them.
{REST} Zaleski's students describe her as patient, loving and dedicated. ``She's the paragon of what this nation intended a teacher to be,'' said Bobbi Donadio, a fellow-teacher at the school.
And after 27 years of teaching, that's what's made Zaleski this year's Norfolk Teacher of the Year - for the third time in her career.
``I see her many times on the floor working with the students. Literally on the floor,'' said colleague Myra Jennings, who teaches sixth-grade science.``She's very creative. She's very hands-on.''
Zaleski's students can vouch for this. Their teacher, they said, is never sitting in her seat. ``She's usually walking around to teach and to help us,'' said 11-year-old Justin Linette.
And if you don't see Zaleski weaving between the desks or on the floor, try looking for her on top of her desk where she's been known to stand while posing as a numerator to teach her kids about fractions. Or maybe she's over by the classroom basketball hoop, where students see the practicality of learning percentages.
``Lucy is so vibrant and outgoing and helpful to everybody. . . Even though she's been teaching so long, she's up to date in all the new methods,'' Donadio said.
And being up to date is something Zaleski said she's made a point to do. ``The biggest message I have for teachers, is that you have to adjust with the children,'' she said. ``I think you always have to remember that they're children. You always have to modify - I'm not saying excuse - I never excuse poor behavior.''
But if the kids are bad, Zaleski said, she has a weapon. Pulling out an oversized inflatable plastic hammer, Zaleski said if the students are being rude, she occasionally pops the kids on the head. And then they laugh. ``I try anything that works,'' she said. When students are truly disrespectful or misbehaving, Zaleski said, ``The first thing you want to do is strangle them . . . but they're kids. Most times they just need to calm down.''
On this morning, Zaleski pointed to a group of ducklings outside the classroom window. ``We hatched them,'' she said proudly, motioning to the incubator. ``I wanted to teach the students humanity.''
This is part of her constant battle to set kids on the right path, said Zaleski, who also tutors her students after school and sometimes on Saturdays. ``The street is always trying to get them,'' she said. Even at the early age of 11 and 12, many of the children know hardship.
``See that boy there, his mother died this year and he has a lot of anger,'' Zaleski said. ``Another boy's father tried to commit suicide. One child's been in three foster homes. He's bright but these are the problems you have to work through.''
When Jason Pye, 11, first joined Zaleski's class, he said: ``She told me I was acting up and she told me to settle down. Other teachers just get annoyed and you get in trouble and then you're sent down to the office and you find out you're in trouble. But Mrs. Zaleski stops the problem before (it happens) and she talked to me. She never puts her kids down.''
Teachers can harm children, Zaleski said. She's well aware of this and that is why the College of William and Mary graduate takes care dealing with the children.
Although nursing, not teaching, was her first career choice, Zaleski said, now she can't imagine doing anything else. ``I chose teaching. And once I started, I realized I could heal the soul and not just the body.''
by CNB