A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Voices from the Classroom: First grade teacher says ‘Hitting the same nail, day after day’ is worth it


By Casey Gesenhues
Woodfill Elementary School

It was your typical Tuesday. My morning had already consisted of corralling my two children downstairs after having a debate regarding attire, making breakfast for the three of us, packing two lunches complete with a joke and an “I love you!” note, and ensuring everyone left the house with their teeth brushed (because we have our priorities straight — while we may be a few minutes late we will not have stinky breath or dirty teeth!)

Casey Gesenhues with a small group in her classroom.

I was exhausted before my “day” even started but I knew all I had to do was wait just a bit before my spirit was rejuvenated because my students always know how to pick me up. They always inspire me and remind me why I chose this career.

So I’ll set the scene.

The school day was in full swing and we were deep in the trenches of our reading workshop. We utilize a workshop model in my classroom and while this little piece of my lesson plan can be demanding I have learned to be patient and continue modeling daily for my students because they start to gain a deeper understanding and they also learn to love reading.

When kicking off our workshop each morning, students listen to explicit instruction covering reading strategies and skills and then use that new knowledge to complete a task that allows them to share and engage in authentic conversations surrounding their texts. I always encourage them to find their voice and use it to share so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I overheard a student say (proudly to himself), “My schema is growing!”

Schema, if you are not aware, is a fancy way to explain how as teachers we activate prior knowledge, link new information to old information, and link different schemata to each other to help our students learn. Basically, we call our brains filing cabinets and we continually put things in labeled folders in order to help students organize information and retain it.

I quickly jumped up from the student I was reading with and looked around to find the one that just said the words that made my heart sing. And lo and behold if it was not one of my most challenging students. He learns a bit differently than my typical students, he requires a lot of one-on-one attention and redirection, and if I’m being honest, it has been a challenge to engage and connect with him during our reading workshop time. I couldn’t believe my eyes (or my ears). I had reached the student that I believed to be unreachable. Not only did he use the vocabulary appropriately I could tell he was confident in what he was currently learning. He felt something inside him that was making him think, “I did it! I understand! I am smart!”

This day and this moment changed me. His exclamation so full of energy and joy rejuvenated me and helped me value the day-to-day, daily grind. The hard part of being a teacher is when you think all the planning and preparation is for nothing. But when a student understands and uses a word like schema correctly and they are 6-years-old you stand in awe of them.

You realize hitting the same nail on the head day after day is actually worth it.

Engaging students and sitting with them through the good and the bad is our job as their teacher and I wouldn’t choose any other career in the whole world.

That moment was worth every hard moment I have ever experienced in my 2,000+days as an educator. 

Casey Gesenhues is a first-grade teacher at Woodfill Elementary School with 12 years of teaching experience. She is a vital part of the Leader in Me initiative at her school and believes all students can be leaders. She serves on the School Curriculum, Assessment, and Accountability Council and the Read to Achieve Council in Frankfort for the Kentucky Department of Education.

Casey and her family


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