Valerie Tyson was voted Williamsburg’s Choice ~Teacher of the Month for April 2015
Valerie Tyson, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher for the YMCA Child Development Center, accepted her Teacher of the Month award from Bob Phipps owner of School Crossing. Voting took place WilliamsburgFamilies.com & School-Crossing.com. Vote now for your choice for May 2015 Teacher of the Month
We had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Valerie Tyson and she was kind enough to answer the following questions for our readers. Please take a minute to read more about this wonderful local teacher and don’t forget to vote for next month’s Teacher of the Month here!
- How long have you been teaching and teaching at YMCA CDC? I have been teaching for thirty five years and twenty five of these wonderful years were spent at the YMCA Child Development Center @ Colonial Williamsburg.
- What drew you to teaching, teaching at YMCA Child Development Center and to being a Pre-K teacher? I was working and teaching young children at the age of 15 in the home of a family friend. I enjoyed that wonderful experience and I knew I wanted to attend college and major in early childhood education. I began my teaching experience at Colonial Williamsburg Child Development Center and now I have twenty five years. I still enjoy teaching young people because it gives me the opportunity to shape, mold and motivate them to learn for the rest of their lives. I still enjoy making and creating fun materials that inspire them to learn. My teaching career has been very rewarding.
- Can you mention a project where you were able to engage the kids outside of the classroom or stories that you heard where they brought their learning home? Through the years, I have used several puppets, dolls and other visual aides to assist me in teaching a theme or a certain letter of the alphabet. For the letter “J”, I had a female doll and I named her Janay Bennett and I dressed her as a Judge and pretended to have her speak as if she was a Judge, explaining to the children the importance of being a good citizen and obeying the laws. The children enjoyed the lesson while learning the letter “J”. One of my students went home and discussed his fascination with Judge Janay Bennett and all he had learned from her. The following day, his mother came to school hoping to meet the Judge and congratulate her on all of her achievements and to thank her for serving the community and how she had influenced her son. To my amazement, the mother thought the Judge was a person and I chuckled and explained that Judge Bennett was a doll that I used to create a lesson for the children. The mother laughed and said I did a fantastic job. Judge Bennett has assisted me quite often over the years to teach the letter “J”.
- What perspective have you gained from being around preschoolers every day? I have learned that preschoolers always have a desire to satisfy the teacher and they love when you are proud of their accomplishments.
- What do you want your students to be able to do when they leave your classroom – that you know will prepare them for further education and life in general?. My goal for my students is that they become independent thinkers, good citizens, develop a thirst for learning and demonstrate a respect for all people.
- If you could ask parents to do one thing to help their children’s academic success what would it be? I would request that my parents stay involved with their child’s education by always participating in the learning process and communicating with the teacher.
- Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you and/or your class that you find you post, read, share or just meditate on? My favorite quote is: “Teachers affect eternity; they can never tell where their influence stops.” Henry Brooks Adam
- Are you from Williamsburg? If not, where are you from, what brought you here? I am from Newport News Virginia and I decided to move to Williamsburg because of the excellent school system. I also enjoy the small town atmosphere and the history of Colonial Williamsburg.
- Do you have any life lessons that the students in your class have taught you – maybe a short story about kindness, sharing or just one of your student’s observations? I am in the process of moving to the RF Wilkinson Family YMCA in Williamsburg. My students were observing me as I packed my books and belongings after twenty-five years in this building at the YMCA Child Development Center at Colonial Williamsburg and they wanted to help me. They turned to me and said: “We will help you pack Ms. Tyson; we will not let you down.” I thought how rewarding it was to witness young children who are kind enough to help me as I make the change into a new building and learning environment.
Answers submitted by Valerie Tyson, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher, YMCA Child Development Center at Colonial Williamsburg
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