Heroes in Education: Technology used Rebecca Stephenson

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Heroes in Education: Technology used Rebecca Stephenson

Sat, 10/31/2020 - 13:54
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Rebecca Stephenson teaches kindergarten at Roosevelt Elementary. She grew up in Nebraska and has a Bachelor’s degree in History and English with a Masters Degree in Secondary Education with emphasis in English.

After Stephenson graduated from college, she married her husband Craig and then accepted her first teaching position in a small school where she taught high school English and junior high History in Kansas. She taught high school for four years.

Later, she and her husband started their family and moved to Oklahoma, where she became a stay at home mom for 12 years.

“I loved doing things with my own kids when they were little,” said Stephenson. “It seemed a natural thing to go from a household of five kids under ten to a classroom of four-year olds.”

Stephenson took the certification tests for early childhood.

“As I was taking the certification tests for early childhood I kept thinking that five years of college was not the knowledge they were asking for on the paper,” said Stephenson. “It was the ten years of experience of being a parent that was helping me to know what works with children.”

As Stephenson’s children went off to college, she realized that by getting her National Board Certification, it would help fund their tuition. Nearly News

“That process taught me to figure out why certain techniques worked in the classroom,” said Stephenson. “It taught me tenacity because I did not pass my first two tries. I was never trained to ask why something worked, but only to find something that did work.”

One of Stephenson’s favorite parts of teaching is staying in touch with families.

“I love hearing from parents years after their child has left elementary school, the biggest compliment is when they say how much fun their child had in the classroom,” said Stephenson. “It is amazing to have a former student see me out in the community and have them say ‘remember me?’”

Stephenson sees her classroom as a home away from home and wants to make sure each child feels loved and meet their needs at this moment.

“Teaching is so much more than rhyming and learning to count. We also help with building character, setting an example, and being there for families,” said Stephenson. “It takes a village to raise a child and I am so thankful to fill the needs of those who are placed in my class.”

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Heroes in Education: Technology used Rebecca Stephenson