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Thursday June 20, 2013 · 48° and fair in Lincoln

Nielsen honored by student, Barnes & Noble

Photo

The nomination letter

Patti Nielsen, second-grade teacher at Kahoa Elementary School, was chosen for a My Favorite Teacher Award from Barnes & Noble. Her student, Austin, nominated her and she was chosen as the winner. 

Students nominating teachers were asked to write an essay, poem or letter about how a teacher has influenced their life.

As a prize she received a set of Barnes & Noble Classic Starts, was entered into our regional contest, and is eligible to win a NOOK e-reader and a $500 Barnes & Noble gift card.

Here is the nomination letter text:

I go to Kahoa Elementary School. I am in 2nd grade. Mrs. Nielsen is my teacher and she is the best. At the beginning of the school year I had trouble with reading. Then Mrs. Nielsen spent more time with me and helped me learn to read better and faster. Now I love to read. My two favorite books are Fangbone and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. She also let’s us read to Sadie, her dog. My teacher is very kind to me. Mrs. Nielsen let us have extra recess sometimes. Mrs. Nielsen makes learning math fun. That’s why Mrs. Nielsen is the best teacher.

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We asked Nielsen a few questions about the honor and her teaching strategy:

How do you feel when a student does something out of the ordinary to tell someone they appreciate their teacher?
My principal Russ Reckewey shared Austin's letter with me when it was submitted.  I was so touched and honored that he would take the time and effort to write the letter.  His mother later told me that it was all his idea and she only helped him with the spelling of a couple words.  Teachers receive cards or emails from parents expressing their appreciation.  These can really give you a boost.  A heart felt letter from a student means so much more.  The recognition by Barnes & Noble was "icing on the cake".

At the end of a school year, what are the types of things a teacher might remember from the past year in the classroom?
At the end of the school year when we are swamped with record keeping it's easy to lose sight of the academic and social progress that was made during the year.  If teachers had the time to look through papers from the beginning of the year, reading levels and behavior marks on the progress reports we can see that yes we made a difference.  During the last week of school as students wrote in their memory books they realized that we did a lot of activities and hopefully had some fun along the way.

 Do you have a style, or strategy perhaps, of how you like things to run in your classroom?
Our school day is curriculum driven.  In order to achieve academic standards our classrooms have to be structured with high expectations of our students.  But we also know that in order for students to engage in learning they have to have a positive relationship with their teacher and the support of classmates.  My Edu-PUPS dogs, Lizzy and Sadie, help to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.  A teacher's enthusiasm and sense of humor helps to make a difference.

Published: May 25, 2012
Updated: July 5, 2012

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