DAVID C GREENE appreciates Miss Rita Stafford, a teacher at PS 66 BX in Bronx, NY
William Wordsworth wrote in his famous poem, The Rainbow, “The child is the father of the man.” We could just as easily say, “The student is the father of the teacher.” Just as human traits are established while young, so are teacher traits. All I ever needed to learn about who I am as a human and as a teacher, I learned, not in kindergarten, but in second grade.
Truth be told, I don’t remember much of kindergarten and first grade, except nap time, blocks, being scolded for not wanting to nap