HomeMy Public PortalAboutAnderson, SueBy ANNE PETERSON
The Idaho Statesman
GARDEN CITY — Sue Anderson,
Idaho Teacher of the Year for 1987,
kept 400 of her peers laughing and
nodding agreement as she spoke
Saturday to the Idaho Education As-
sociation.
The McCall elementary school
teacher got a standing ovation after
she described the balance between
hard work and relaxation that teach-
ers need to maintain.
The IEA's 94th assembly met
Friday and Saturday at the Red Lion
Motor Inn -Riverside.
Anderson suggested a simple job
description: Teach thousands of
pieces of information to up to 30 peo-
ple at a time in an enclosed space.
"We do this without file clerks, sec-
retaries or telephones," she said.
The wide variety of students in any
classroom provides interest and chal-
lenge, she pointed out. In her classes,
students range from an 8-year-old
who can describe how erosion occurs
and write complete stories to another
who is hampered by a confusion
about the world in general, education
in particular and "does not under-
stand the meaning of the word sit."
Anderson said she answered a
knock on her schoolroom _door one
morning to find a woman and two
children outside, all of whom ap-
peared shaken. The woman pushed
one son toward Anderson and said: "I
joist shot my husband. Be kind to him
Che child) today."
As part of their jobs, teachers feed
the hungry, counsel the abused, chal-
lenge the bright, motivate the lazy
and offer hope, she said. Then they go
home to correct papers and prepare
lesson plans.
"If you were employed by an ad
agency, would you be expected to
prepare six hours of presentation
after hours?" Anderson asked.
During last summer's vacation,
spurred by the need for a new roof on
her home and the desire to go back to
school herself, Anderson tutored stu-
dents.
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Teacher of Year keeps
colleagues grinning
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Sue
Anderson
... says
students'
variety
provides
challenge
"I also cleaned houses and made
more money at that than I do teach-
ing," she said.
To alleviate stress, her school en-
courages frequent physical exercise
for its teachers and provides "a huge
dose of laughter."
"Those are two reasons why
McCall Elementary School is so suc-
cessful," she said.
Burnout is a constant danger to
teachers who try to do their best all
the time, Anderson warned, and
there, too, her school offers support.
The wide-ranging interests of her
fellow teachers — from composer
and triathlon champions to Teacher
in Space -designate Barbara Morgan
— provide a work environment filled
with people who make a "conscious
effort to live, learn and take part in
life."
She said the school superintendent,
Everett Howard, encourages teach-
ers to take sabbaticals, knowing they
will return refreshed and more
knowledgeable.
The job is both fun and frustrating,
Anderson said, but sometimes it gives
her a peek at how the rest of the
world sees her profession.
"My mom's going back to school,"
a student once told her. When asked
what the mother would study, the
child said: "She's not sure yet. She
either wants to get a good job or be a
teacher." _