SPARTA, Wis. (WKBT)- A second grade teacher at St. Patrick’s in Sparta infuses her classroom with fun while putting an emphasis on being kind.
“What gets you out of bed in the morning?”
“Coffee? Ah, no. [Laughs] It’s really truly the kids,” said Lori Lazzari.
“Well, she’s a good teacher and she does, like, fun things for teaching,” said student Kiralynn Lakowske.
“That she’s a very funny teacher. And I like to learn with her a lot” said student Myra Schanhofer.
Lori Lazzari from St. Patrick’s in Sparta is fun and loves teaching.
Lori said, “I do it in a way that, I hope, is exciting for them and engages them and they want to learn more about it. So many students are discouraged when they first try to learn how to read because the letters just jumble together.”
With Mrs. Lazzari, students like Myra like to read.
“Every single book,” said Myra.
“When I show them how excited I am to read and I give them that experience of how it can take you to a place that you’ve never been before; to see that excitement in them, then I know that I’ve hit them; I know that I’ve gotten to them and that they’re really excited to learn about it.”
But there’s something extra that is added.
“If we just have academics and we don’t have core Christian values and a good heart, then what’s the purpose?”
“What does she want from her students?”
“To be good citizens. To be good people. To be good Christians. To make good choices,” said Lori.
Words then put into action. “I had them each take a light bulb for every child in the classroom and write something kind about them. I do this every year in hopes that we can lift spirits of everybody.”
And then words that the second grader in all of us need to be reminded of daily.
“You just do your best and go with the flow because you can plan it out ‘til it’s perfect and think, ‘Oh, it’s going to go this way, it’s going to go this way and it’s not. And it’s ok. And you’re going to do great. You are going to do great. It’s going to happen. You’ll get there. Be patient with yourself, be kind to yourself, and it’ll happen.”
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