Editor’s note: To read profiles of all 2015-2016 Blackboard Awards honorees, click HERE!
Debra Rabinowitz
Nursery Preschool
The Cathedral School
Tell us about some of the special joys and challenges you’ve experienced as a teacher.
The joys and challenges of teaching provide the motivation to create a successful classroom experience for each child. Watching a child make a first friend, talk in front of the class, or successfully construct what she envisioned is an extremely rewarding experience.
School for this age group provides children a sense of their own community and offers an opportunity to nurture citizenship. Along with these ideals, a classroom is a “team” and how we behave supports social responsibility and how we learn to help one another. As the school year unfolds, it is gratifying to observe the ideals of teamwork and community carried out through day-to-day activities.
Please share a special project or achievement (or two) that you are particularly proud of from this year.
Entering into a new school with a new administration, framework, classroom team, community, and the additional requirements for completing NAEYC accreditation was a huge challenge. Luckily, I have an amazing assistant teacher as well as classroom support staff. Together we created an exciting, nurturing, and magical environment where children and teachers learn and thrive together.
Over the course of your career, what do you consider one or two of your greatest accomplishments?
Building strong relationships between school, families, and children are my greatest accomplishments. Utilizing an ability to understand, nurture, and challenge children to create a positive classroom experience while building a collaborative relationship with each family is the cornerstone to ensuring a child will succeed and flourish at school. The greatest sense of accomplishment is realizing that a student has learned, grown, and thrived within my classroom.
What drives you? What keeps you motivated and committed to being a dedicated and hard-working educator?
I’m driven to teach because I believe I can make a difference in a child’s life. Through positive experiences in an early childhood classroom, children gain confidence and comfort in a school setting enabling them to discover the joys of learning, exploring, and working within a classroom community and beyond.
Any special advice for parents on how they can best support their children academically at the grade level you teach? And more generally? And how they can have the most productive relationship with their children’s teacher and school?
Parents need to recognize that every child grows at his or her own pace. Allow your child the opportunities, experiences, and time to achieve their goals and milestones. As they grow make them feel supported, loved, and respected.
Teachers spend a great deal of time with your children and are able to offer insight into their development, interests, and challenges. Use teachers’ knowledge and experience to gain insight into the education of your child. Parents can add to students’ experiences at school by opening up to teachers about a child’s hobbies, passions, challenges, and life experiences.
