Today's gift: Renée Wallner, 62, who teaches fifth grade at Castlehill Country Day School.
Nominated by: Harrison Reid, 10, a student in Wallner's class.
Why she is special: She "is the best teacher I've ever had," wrote Harrison, citing her ability to make "learning fun and concepts easy to understand."
Wallner is an experienced teacher. She retired after 30 years from Amphitheater Public Schools, where she taught middle school.
But the retirement didn't take; she missed the classroom and now has been at Castlehill for seven years, bringing with her not only her years of experience, but also her strong interest in books, newspapers and news magazines.
That enthusiasm obviously is contagious because, thanks to her, Harrison says, he's learned to enjoy reading. And that is something he "hated before this year."
People are also reading…
How does she do it? In part by whetting her students' interest in good stories.
One such book that impressed Harrison is "Peak" by Roland Smith.
"I have bought more books by some of the authors (she has introduced to the class) to read by myself at our (the school's) book fair," he said.
But more than that, "Mrs. Wallner stands up for people in our grade. She tries very hard to have us all get along."
If there's a disagreement between classmates, she "gets to the bottom of it" and tries to make those responsible "understand why what they did wasn't right."
She uses newspapers as a teaching tool, introducing her students to current events. "We have a good time discussing them," Harrison said.
"She likes discussing politics in class and writing letters to the editor of newspapers like the Arizona Daily Star when she thinks there is an important issue," he said.
And when it comes to teaching the students about community involvement, Wallner does it by example.
"She likes helping out others and helps with our school food bank project."
She even has started a book club at the school and a knitting club, teaching interested students how to knit, something she has always enjoyed.
Perhaps best of all, "she keeps everything under control and doesn't freak out," Harrison said.
"I wish that everyone could have a teacher like Mrs. Wallner."
— Rosalie Robles Crowe
Gifts of Tucson
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