A lot of my friends have been talking about the 80 year old teacher from Irving who is still teaching. When her picture and story appeared in the paper, one friend shared that she initially thought the woman was a volunteer. Mrs. Martin, a teacher at Austin Middle School, is pictured using a walker as she makes sure her students are on task while working on their laptops.
This dedicated middle school teacher loves the students and her job and has no plans to quit. It seems that she is able to state the rules and class expectations, and the students do what they are told. Since I never found classroom management to be quite that simple, I am in awe of this kind of control.
IRVING – At age 80, Nancy Martin needs a walker or a motorized scooter to get around Austin Middle School, but that doesn't stop her from teaching.
With doses of discipline and lessons on good manners, Mrs. Martin teaches far more than career development at the south Irving school.
"Many of the children see her as a grandmother, and they really do love her," co-worker Judy Hughes said. "It's a mutual respect. They are expected to be ladies and gentlemen."
Each morning, she teaches career connections, an elective course where students learn about various jobs.
Mrs. Martin, who has arthritis, walked around slowly to check on them as they worked on their laptops. She's arranged their desks in a circle so she can make sure they're not on MySpace or YouTube.
"If I could teach them anything, it would be to listen and follow instructions – then they can be 'A' students," Mrs. Martin said. "That's my philosophy."
I like Mrs. Martin's advice about listening. It makes me wonder why people seem to prefer to talk instead of listen. After all, if people already know what they plan to say, wouldn't it be more entertaining to listen?
Mrs. Martin keeping an eye on her students.