By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Teacher Erika Norris, a confirmed English nerd, will do about anything she can to get kids hooked on reading.
Norris, a fifth-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School, was nominated for the February Hays Post Teacher of the Month Award by parent LaChelle Fitzmorris.
"She has turned a hesitant reader into a student that really enjoys books," Fitzmorris said, "so much so that we have had to get copies of books read at school because he wants to read them again at home.
"She encourages Kellan's interests and lets us know right away if he is struggling in any way."
Fitzmorris said Norris checked in on her student when he was home sick.
Kellan wrote a report on puffins, so Norris was quick to send him a fun photo of one of the birds.
"Her genuine concern for her student makes her someone Kellan loves talking to and sharing with," Fitzmorris said. "Knowing he heads to a classroom where there is this type of nurturing relationship every day makes my heart smile!"
Norris, who is only in her third year of teaching, said she was honored by the nomination.
"I try to make a connection with every student that comes in the classroom no matter what their background is or what their story is. Everybody's story can change at a moment's notice."
She looks to connect with students through a book series or a common interest.
But she said she knows not every student comes in ready to learn every single day, she said.
"You have to be able to provide a safe space or be a listening ear or give that Maslow need before the Bloom's [educational] need," she said.
Norris is a graduate of Fort Hays State University. She recently received her master's degree in building administration. She did her student teaching at Roosevelt, as well as worked in the after school program there.
However, Norris was inspired to become a teacher by her mother, Beth Norris, who is the K-8 principal in the Thunder Ridge School District.
"Just seeing her interact with students was inspiring," Norris said.
Sharing their teaching experiences is another way Erika and her mom connect. Erika said she talks to mom almost daily and her mom was thrilled to learn about her Teacher of the Month Award.
Erika said she could see herself as a principal some day, but for now she loves teaching the fifth-grade.
"They're still really eager to learn," she said. "They come everyday with stories and everything under the sun that they're willing to share. ... They're independent too. Fifth-grade's a really good fit. They're so fun."
Norris said she lives for the "light-bulb moments."
"... just watching them at the beginning of a lesson, and they think it's impossible. They think it's not going to work. I'm a growth mindset person, so we don't say can't. We don't get something yet, be we're going to get there.
"Then you watch that light bulb come on when it finally clicks. One strategy or another finally works and you see the excitement."
Sometimes you have to take a break from academics and talk about life lessons. Last year the kids explored bullying through toothpaste. She told the kids harsh words are like squeezing out toothpaste. It's easy to get the toothpaste out, but really difficult to get it back into the tube.
She also used a lesson using a hammer, board and nails — an idea from her mother.
"You can say something awful and apologize and pull out that nail, but that hole is still there," she said. "It is very impactful for them to see it."
Recently her students have been discussing fair versus equal as part of the AmeriTowne curriculum. The students will eventually vote for elected officials for their town, be interviewed for jobs and learn about personal finance during the program.
She explained one student might need more help on an assignment than another student who might already understand the lesson.
She said students also learn life lessons from one of her favorite books, "Home of the Brave," which is about an immigrant boy who comes to the United States and struggles to fit in. Norris said she appreciates the book because her students learn from it that everyone has their own battle.
"They grow through that book," she said.
Life lessons are important, but she also tries to keep class fun.
Norris recently taught a unit on poetry and admitted some students were not excited to find out that was the lesson for the day. However, Norris tried to make it fun even for those professed poetry haters.
She introduced a series of poems and the students had to guess what objects the poems were about.
"I had one student who started writing his own poetry," she said. "I try to have a good time with them when learning about things that aren't the most fun."