Teacher For A Day Brings Community To Classroom

It was a day that started before the homeroom bell, and included teaching math and science, leading a lockdown drill and, of course, keeping students interested in lessons.

Even when, in the case of Hillsborough Funeral Home Director Mike Reilly’s day at Auten Road Intermediate School, one student fell out of a chair during math class.

“I know, I know, I’m here as a teacher for a day, and you’re excited,” Reilly said as the student picked himself up from the floor.

The one-day teaching gig, shared by eight other community members, marked the Hillsborough Education Association’s first Teacher-for-a-Day event on March 30.

“I’m not quitting my day job because I enjoy it, that’s for sure,” Reilly said at the end of the day.  “It’s amazing how you have to make it fun for them.  It’s amazing again what you do.”

The Teacher for a Day event, which is sponsored by the NJEA and planned by the local chapters, invites community members into the schools to serve as teachers for a single day.  When the HEA’s planners—teachers Kelly Villano and Amy Salinger, and HEA President Barbara Parker—began preparing for the event in December, they initially invited 50 community members, they said.  Of the 50 invited, nine responded, laying the framework for the day.

Then, the organizers invited teachers to participate and attempted to match the community members to the teaching fields they requested.

The resulting pairings had Reilly teaching Lynn Mineo-Winters sixth grade science and math classes, Susan Spagnola, Hillsborough Education Foundation President and lawyer, teaching Sheila Marce’s first graders at Amsterdam Elementary School, Board of Education member Marc Rosenberg taught Dave Dragani’s Special Education and History courses at Hillsborough High School and Board of Education member Thuy Anh Le spending a day as grade eight instructional assistant Maria Delucia.  Meanwhile, Board of Education member Judy Haas spent the day serving as Hillsborough High School librarian Connie Swanzer, the Reverend William Zimmermann, of Faith Lutheran Church, taught Christine Haas’ high school English classes, Assistant Prosecutor Bob Hawkes taught Joan Sheridan’s high school History classes, Township Prosecutor and former Board of Education member Frank Blandino taught Alysia Puma’s junior and senior English classes, and Realtor Joanne Liscovitz taught Melissa Blevins’ English classes.

But before the community members took to the classroom, they met with their host teachers to go over the day’s lessons.  Depending on each guest’s comfort in the classroom, they were given the option to create the day’s lesson plans themselves or have the host teacher walk them through an already-planned lesson.

“I think it’s eye-opening for a lot of people who participated,” Salinger said.  “We heard a lot of comments about always having to be “on”.”

The day concluded with a meeting where the volunteers teachers spoke about their experiences during the day.

“I was surprised I lasted through the day,” Judy Haas, whose duties ranged from issuing passes, checking books out and in, reading to preschool classes and shelving books, said.  “These women are amazing.  That library is busy every hour of the day.  I was amazed at the technology and resources.  Every single computer was used all day long.”

“What really came home today is the different personality of the classes,” the Rev. Zimmermann said.  “It was interesting to see that dynamic, the idea of how a personality shows itself in a group like that.”

The day held challenges for the teachers as well.

“As the teacher, it was hard to give up control,” Melissa Blevins, high school English teacher, said.

“I was most proud of my students,” Alyssia Puma said.  “I just thought, ‘what are they going to do to him’.  .  .They made me very proud today.  I think they made it an exceptionally worthwhile day.”

And the experience was worthwhile enough to consider repeating the day next school year—the HEA organizers said they are already planning to repeat the day in 2011-2012.