Name: Marissa Manos
    School: Hackett Elementary in the School District of Beloit (former RPS teacher)
    What do you teach?: Kindergarten
    Years active as a teacher: three ( 2nd grade, 4th grade, Currently Kindergarten)

    What inspired you to become a teacher? 

    Ever since I was a little girl I always knew I was meant to be a teacher. I would ask Santa for a chalkboard to play “school” every year for Christmas. Then I would make the kids my mom babysat for play “school” with me and I was ALWAYS the teacher.

    I have always loved sharing knowledge and inspiring others to love learning, but it wasn’t until I was older that I realized the impact I could have on others while doing it. After high school I decided that I needed to be who I needed when I was younger. I wanted to be the teacher that inspired, guided, and assisted students to reach their fullest potential.

    What’s the best thing about being a teacher?

    The best thing about being a teacher is building meaningful relationships with my students that will last a lifetime. Forming relationships with each individual student and watching their progress is truly a blessing.

    Hearing them repeat the things you have taught them or apply it to a real world experience has to be the best feeling overall.

    If you could pass on any wisdom to your students, what would you share?

    I would pass on the knowledge and execution of the growth mindset. The mind is truly the most powerful thing in the entire universe. You can do anything you put your mind to. There is a saying that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and that is because you literally are in charge of your own perception of reality through your thoughts. If you think negatively, your world experiences will follow. If you think positively, your world experiences will also follow. It is up to you to control that. I truly believe that if you can shape students to have a growth mindset, nothing will ever be able to stop them and they will never give up.

    How do you think students will remember you and your class?

    I think students will always remember my class whenever they see a pineapple. I have always decorated my classroom in a Hawaiian theme and the main decoration has always been pineapples.

    There are pineapples on everything. I also think my students will remember my class as being positive, fun, safe, and uplifting. They will surely never forget how many times throughout the year I may have said “ You got this!”

    What kind of student were you?

    I was a good student and always had good grades but never really acted too interested.

    In high school I was more focused on friends than academics. But in college I was the student who was always asking too many questions, would turn in my work weeks before the due date, and would stay after class to extend the lesson with even more questions.

    One time the teacher even let me teach the course because I had such a grip on the lesson she had planned. Even though the professors loved it, my peers were probably annoyed by my passion for learning.

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