November Teacher Feature

“A teacher affects eternity; she can never tell where her influence stops.” ~ Henry Brooks Adams

Theresa Porter is in her nineteenth year of teaching at Clearbrook-Gonvick Public School.  Eighteen of those years have been spent with second graders.  Theresa and her husband, Jeffrey, have been married for 34 years. They have three sons. Jared, the oldest, his wife, Andrea and their twins, Leah and Liam, live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.   Jackson, their youngest son, also lives and works in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  Austin, the middle son, his wife, Kayla, and two children, Brielle and Landon, live in Temecula, CA. All three sons graduated from Clearbrook-Gonvick and went on to graduate from college, two from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and the middle son from North Dakota State University. All three sons have also served in the military and Austin followed his father as a Marine officer and is serving in Iraq right now. A proud military family! 

Why did you choose to be a teacher?  When I was young I loved Math, in fact when I was in grade school I would buy Math workbooks at the dime store with my extra money and spend my free time doing  Math. I really wanted to be a Math teacher.  I didn’t know what else you could do with a Math degree so I went into teaching and while in college I worked and volunteered with younger children and decided to go into elementary education.  I love to help children learn!  I love teaching, but I really want children to know that they can do hard things and they can be in charge of their own learning.  

What did you do before coming to Clearbrook-Gonvick?  I had the best job ever...I was a stay at home mom for my three sons for 13 years.  My husband was in the military so we moved quite often.  When our youngest son started school I decided to start substitute teaching.  I subbed in Clearbrook-Gonvick  for 2 years and then was hired as a teacher.

What is the best part of your job at Clearbrook-Gonvick?  When I started teaching I loved it because I could go to work with my sons.  I thought it was the ideal job to be in the same place where my kids were.  Now that they have been gone for several years I still think it is a great place to be.  I love the staff that I work with and being in a small school is very special because you get to know everyone.  Having a 3 minute commute is pretty awesome too.

What is the biggest challenge of your job?  It seems that I never have enough time in my day to teach either what I have to teach or what I want to teach.  My students also have so many things that they want to learn and I want to find time for that too.  When they are learning something of interest to them they are so motivated.  I want to help my students to become creative, curious, and caring, and not so dependent on the me, the teacher.   They need to learn how to think for themselves and that is a real challenge.  

What do you do when you are not at school teaching? I enjoy reading nonfiction books, quilting, doing things with my husband, and creating things.  When I have long weekends or summer vacation I love to travel to see family and spend time with my grandchildren.  Reading books and doing fun activities with my grandkids is the best!

What are your favorite aspects of the Clearbrook-Gonvick community? Living in a small town has quite a few advantages.  People care about each other and you can always count on many to help out when in need.  You never know how special it is unless you have lived away for years and experienced other communities...there is really no place like home.  

 

And a now a word (or two) about Mrs. Porter from some of her students…

What do you think Mrs. Porter does when she is not here at school? “Go to the doctor” “Waters plants and works in a garden” “Read” “Sleep” “Home sick or on a trip” She is either shopping or sick”

What do you think Mrs. Porter was like as a second grader? “Good” “Amazing” “Helpful and nice” “A good listener and did her best” “A good listener” “smart, friendly, playful, boring”

What is the best thing about Mrs. Porter? “She has the best games and party activities.” “She’s nice” “She is kind” “There’s fun books” “She is nice” “That she is helpful”

What job do you think Mrs. Porter would have is she was not a teacher?  “Work at the grocery store” “Nothing” “A lawyer” “Work at Y92” “An illustrator” “A cook”

What do you think Mrs. Porter should be for Halloween? “Scarecrow” “Witch” “A kickin’ butt zombie” “Crayon”  “Witch” “A boxtop”

What is one thing Mrs. Porter ALWAYS says? “Be respectful.”  “Get ready quickly.” “Write in your planners.” “Be respectful” “Talk less...work more.”