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18A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 15, 2015 Polk County Schools/Education Larson finds best in high-school students By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer Linda Tonagel plays math games with second-grader Hadley Craig at Monmouth El- ementary School on Friday. Tonagel was named Elementary Teacher of the Year. Tonagel provides clear expectations By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — For Linda Tonagel, teaching was a natural choice. “In high school, I had many teachers that influ- enced me with their love of teaching,” Tonagel, 55, said. “My district provided class- es that gave me (teaching) opportunities. Those teach- ers and opportunities, along with my love of chil- dren, made it a natural choice.” The 32-year veteran teacher was named Ele- mentary Teacher of the Year by her associates in the Central Education Associa- tion. Tonagel teaches second grade at Monmouth Ele- mentary School. She plays games with her students to help them learn math and work on language arts. She said the “trick” to get students to listen and learn — regardless of age — is to provide a loving, safe environment. “Children want bound- aries and will continue to test them to make sure they are there,” she said. “When you set those boundaries with clear expectations, and you follow through with love and consistency, then children choose to do their best for you.” Having been in the busi- ness of education for three decades, Tonagel said edu- cation practices run on a pendulum, and has seen “old ways” in teaching be- come “new ways.” “The change I think ben- efitted kids the most was when education focused on developmentally appropri- ate practices,” she said. “Unfortunately, education has swung away from that focus and is now focused on testing and test results that don’t always show growth in learning and are not developmentally ap- propriate.” Tonagel said she misses having time in the class- room to teach things kids get excited about — sci- ence, social studies, art and health. “The lessons and units that made school fun for most adults are cut short because of so much time taken up by testing,” she said. When it comes to being successful in the classroom and in life, parents should teach children to be good listeners, able to follow di- rections, be responsible and respectful — most of the time — no matter where they are or what they are doing, Tonagel said. “If parents have these ex- pectations for their child, they will be successful,” she said. INDEPENDENCE — Teenagers are at that perfect age: nearly adults, but still open-minded to new ideas and fresh perspectives. That’s one thing Roseanna Larson loves about teaching them. “It’s a time of tremendous growth and opportunity to have an impact on kids,” said Larson, 42, language arts teacher at Central High School. Larson was named Sec- ondary Teacher of the Year by her peers in the Central Education Association. “I had no intention of be- coming a teacher when I graduated from high school,” Larson said. “I went back to school later when my kids were all going to school full time.” Larson is a 1990 graduate of Central High, and was happy to come back to the community she loves. Many of the relationships she has with students comes from having gotten to know them first as friends of her own children. “We’re pretty involved in what our kids are doing,” Larson said. “It makes class- room management easier when you know a lot of the students and their parents.” Teaching is all about building relationships, she said, and she tells aspiring teachers at Western Oregon University that, too. She teaches content pedagogy for language arts classes at WOU. “Your students will come along with you to study any- thing you ask them to study if they buy in that you care,” Larson said. Education has seen a shift from being focused on the teacher to being focused on the student, Larson said. She is concerned about the way education is steer- ing away from counting homework and meeting deadlines in the grading process with proficiency grading. “It’s not that (homework and deadlines) don’t matter, but it doesn’t show up in the grade, which is what kids see,” Larson said. “It matters to them. I’m concerned about how we can help kids realize that deadlines do matter in life.” Those life skills are not stressed as much as they used to be, Larson said. She said it is as important for parents to stay involved in their child’s education in high school as it is in kinder- garten and first grade. “Having a connection in high school is just as impor- tant,” Larson said. “I think sometimes that’s where stu- dents kind of drift, and their parents kind of drift, too.” EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer Roseanna Larson and her teacher’s assistant Alyssa Gregson review paperwork at Cen- tral High School. The language arts teacher won Secondary Teacher of the Year.