Hannah Pfoutz's first year of teaching ended with a lot of hugs and smiles.
Her fifth-graders at Arlington's Drew Model Elementary School were dressed to the nines last week for their promotion ceremony to middle school. As part of the ceremony, each student stepped to the microphone and reflected on the year.
Teacher Hannah Pfoutz poses with student Jordan Gibbs after Drew Model Elementary School's promotion ceremony for the departing fifth-grade class, which included a student who was honored with a cake.
(Photos Larry Morris -- The Washington Post)
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_____Class Notes_____
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Exhausting is Robinson's Only Way (washingtonpost.com, Sep 25, 2002)
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Teaching All the Time (washingtonpost.com, Sep 26, 2002)
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For Veteran, Open Dialogue Gets Results (The Washington Post, Sep 26, 2002)
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For Educators, a Year Of Challenges Awaits (The Washington Post, Aug 29, 2002)
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Alex Robinson: Marching to His Own Beat
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Hannah Pfoutz: A Return Home Yields a New Beginning
_____Related Columns_____
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Class Struggle: Weekly column from education reporter Jay Mathews
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Teacher Says: Weekly column from Evelyn Vuko on helping children learn
_____On the Web_____
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Drew Model Elementary School
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Washington-Lee High School
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Arlington Public Schools
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Tamika George said simply, "I do not feel like leaving."
Other students echoed Tamika's words, many saying their days in Pfoutz's class marked the first time they had enjoyed school.
Pfoutz , 27, said she, too, was not ready to leave, especially as she prepares for the transition from classroom teacher to producing plays at a summer camp in Pennsylvania.
Slightly overwhelmed by the daunting end-of-year tasks ahead of her, the Arlington native paused last week to evaluate her first full year of teaching, a profession she entered after spending time in New York's theater community.
She acknowledged that she drew heavily on her acting background, both in teaching her lessons with dramatic flair and helping to produce the class's student-written opera in February.
Fall was a bit of a struggle, she remembered, as she searched for the right way to teach complex math concepts. Winter's heavy snow led to missed school days, throwing her ambitious lesson plans off schedule. The school day was extended by an hour for the last couple of months to make up lost time, which Pfoutz said was welcome, even if it meant longer days for her.
"I can get so much done with one more hour," she said, wishing the extended day were a permanent change.
She coached her students for the state Standards of Learning exams and said she felt that she avoided the trap of teaching to the test.
"I was teaching for meaning," she said, pointing to math games and art projects that incorporated test objectives. "We did all these things that the kids liked, and I think they learned, too."
Still, she said, next year she will incorporate more multiple-choice exercises into her lessons so her students have plenty of practice with the test format.
After the state exams, the fifth-graders took a trip to Camp Glenkirk, where they stayed for three days and two nights early this month. The camp served as an outdoor classroom in which students could get muddy and enjoy the outdoors while exploring ponds and learning about snakes.
When they returned, Pfoutz gave them an assignment to reflect on their year: Write a letter to next year's fifth-graders. The students' essays were full of insight and appreciation for their experiences, including the trip to Glenkirk, their opera and learning how to relate to their stern but loving teacher.
Nadine Kapijimpanga's letter offered this insight into decoding Pfoutz's mannerisms: "She turns red, and that means that she is mad and pink means she is tired and has laughed a lot!"
Pfoutz said that her class did make her laugh a lot and that she enjoyed herself even when she was tired.
"This job gives my life a lot of meaning," she said. "I spent the last year doing something really worthwhile. It's the first time I've ever felt that way, that there'd be something missing if I didn't do this."
