THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9406150186
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940616 LENGTH: SUFFOLK
``You never stop being a teacher,'' Lester said. ``I'm always wondering how I can present a skill or change a previous lesson that didn't go over well. Sometimes my best ideas come at night when I'm resting.''
{REST} Four years ago, Lester was named ``Rookie Teacher of the Year'' by Suffolk Public Schools.
This year, she will represent the best of all Suffolk school teachers as ``1995 Teacher of the Year.''
Lester, 28, will compete in regional competition, which could lead to the state contest, and then National Teacher of the Year competition held annually by the Council of Chief State School Officers, Good Housekeeping magazine and the Encyclopaedia Britannica Companies.
But the best rewards of teaching come from her students, Lester said.
``It can be a hug early in the morning, a picture drawn on a piece of notebook paper, students checking out books on a subject you've discussed in class, a student-made card with a beautiful poem inside, a student mastering a difficult skill, or a student smiling my way,'' she said.
To make math more interesting to her students, Lester created a game using plastic bowling balls and pins. A piece of paper with a different math problem was attached to each pin.
``If a student hit the pins, he or she had to solve the problems,'' she said.
Even an Easter egg hunt was a learning experience for the children. Lester purchased plastic eggs and on half of each egg drew a standard clock.
The other half pictured time on a drawn digital clock. After finding an egg, a student was required to find the person that had the egg's matching half.
The lead math teacher at the school, Lester attends summer workshops and brings back to other teachers new ideas and activities to integrate math and science.
``I work with the `whole child,' '' Lester said. ``I interact with my students on a daily basis, so I am aware of what bothers them and any problems which may influence their success.
``When I attended school, I worried if I'd forgotten my lunch money,'' she said. ``Today, some children have to worry about where their next meal is coming from or whether or not their buddy is going to be shot.''
A native of Portsmouth, Lester graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School and received a bachelor's degree in elementary education at Old Dominion University.
Her desire to be a teacher was fostered by her own fourth-grade teacher.
``I think I've always wanted to be a teacher,'' Lester said. ``In fourth grade, I had a teacher that I rushed to see every morning. When I talked to her, she was really listening.
``I was an overweight child, but she made me feel special,'' Lester said. ``I don't ever remember being ridiculed in her class.''
Lester's mother also was instrumental in her career choice.
``She always wanted me to go to college and to have a job that I'd enjoy every day . . . one that would support me if I was the sole support of a family,'' she said.
As a child of divorced parents, Lester recently felt a special empathy for one of her students, who was unhappy about her parents' separation.
``I was able to use my own personal experience with divorce to let the child understand that I, too, had gone through the same problems,'' Lester said. ``The next morning, I placed a card on her desk letting her know that she was in my thoughts. I later received a thank-you card made out of construction paper from her.
``It is a day I will never forget,'' she said. ``In my opinion, a teacher should never be too busy to listen and to care for a child.''
Lester's understanding and caring for her students extends beyond the classroom, as well.
``When I have time, I attend their church services,'' she said. ``Some were in the choir. And I've been to their softball games.''
by CNB