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Kristi Watters

 

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KRISTI WATTERS

Center Grove Elementary School 

KINDERGARTEN 

15 Years of Teaching; 15 Years at Center Grove 

What teaching means to me.......

To me, teaching is important because I believe everyone is capable of learning and everyone is capable of teaching. It's just a matter of "content". As a Kindergarten teacher, I teach acădemics but I also teach things like patience, empathy, independence, and self-control. At the same time, I find that I am learning from my students. It may not be academics that I'm learning from them, but things like a experiencing life with a true sense of wonder and being excited about things in ways that offer joy or amusement. It is a nice reminder to step back and see things through the eyes of 'a five year old. "Underwear" is a funny word, hand sanitizer really should be called "hanitizer", if you learn to balance on one foot you could one day be a ninja, and it's ok to hug someone and tell them how much you love them each and every day. Many years ago, I read work by Sonia Nieto that resonated with me because it aligned so well with my goals and beliefs. It still rings true today. She said, "Teaching to me involves more than disseminating information to students and passing tests. It involves love, commitment, dedication, and patience. In order to teach, teachers must have faith in their students and believe in them". My mission has always been to express my passion for lifelong learning, maintain my enthusiasm and desire to create independent learners by dedicating time and energy to teaching, keep laughter in my classroom, and motivate my students with creativity while treating them as individuals. At the end of the day, my main priority is to ensure each student knows they are loved.