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Stanley brings life experience to her classBy Barry Merrill 09 January 2008 — Sherry Stanley teaches her 7th grade social studies students about people who live in Africa, Asia and Australia, the curriculum for 7th grade social studies. When asked about what she hopes her students will take away from her year with them, she says, “Everyone does not do things the same way we do. Just because people do things differently, that does not make them wrong.”
As a girl who grew up in New Jersey and who has seen a bit of the world beyond Johnston County, she brings a lot of varied experiences to her classroom. In a way, she may help personally to communicate that message. Miss Stanley is one of the two latest members of the staff at Princeton School to win their National Board Certification. Julie Capps was profiled in an earlier edition. Miss Stanley was born in West Virginia, but grew up in northern New Jersey. She graduated from high school there and went to William Patterson College (now University), also in northern NJ. She graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology, reflective of her concern and desire to understand people. She volunteered with Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) in 1992, helping with relief after an earthquake there. She also worked for a time with disabled adults with the Association for Retarded Citizens, and she and a friend backpacked across much of Europe for six weeks. Sherry came to the realization that she wanted to teach. She went back to school to complete the extra classes necessary for her to teach in schools, completing that work in December of 1998. As teaching jobs were tough to find in New Jersey, she went back to waitressing. A friend was also looking for a teaching job as well, and happened to come across Johnston County’s website. They responded, were given interviews, and both are now working in Johnston County; her friend teaches at West Johnston High School. Kirk Denning, who was coming to Princeton in the fall of 1999, hired her to teach both 7th and 8th grade social studies. At the time they were offering eight class periods a day, but when they went to five blocks of classes, she just went to 7th grade classes. She remembers well her first year in Johnston County, and some of the adaptations that she had to make, and some that her students had to make to a teacher from New Jersey, but she says for the most part they had fun with it. As to the different route to her teaching career, she says it worked for her. “I have more to draw on. I’m glad I waited. At 22, I don’t think I would have been ready to be in the classroom. I have more life experience. And middle school kids can be tough at times.” When she decided to try for National Board Certification, two years ago, she admits it is the toughest thing she has ever done in teaching. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of reflection, and a lot of research. I’ve been out of school for so long, it’s been hard to go back to write about what you are doing.” There are four parts to the portfolio that had to be prepared and sent off, but then there was a test with six questions. Miss Stanley did fine with the portfolio, but did not pass the exam, missing by two points. “I didn’t feel right about it when I took the test,” she said last week. She had to wait a year to re-take the test, but she did not have to re-submit or change the portfolio portion. She felt much more confident last year and her confidence was confirmed when she was notified late last year she had in fact passed on her second attempt. A number of certified teachers have failed on their first attempt to win certification. She said teaching can become somewhat routine at times, but the certification process changed that to some extent for her. “It made me look at the Johnston County standards, the state standards, and the national standards. I reflect more when planning my lessons, when teaching them. A lot of the questions require responses as insights from the teacher: what went well, what didn’t. “Most teachers who go through the process have to have a higher process about their methods.” Teachers are being pushed by the No Child Left Behind standards to improve student performance and to individually find ways to be effective with every student. While she agrees with the philosophy that is an integral part of the standards, to craft an individual plan for every student, she says with 28-31 students in every classroom, it is not practical to work with every one, “but yes, I would love to.” She also says that to be practical, “there is some responsibility on the part of the student.” When away from school, she has a home in northern Johnston County, where she enjoys her pets. She also enjoys trips to visit family in West Virginia and New Jersey. She says that she spends a lot of her time, and some of her “free” time around Princeton. She is the volleyball coach for the middle school. “I enjoy getting to know the girls outside the classroom.” She also says the staff at the school sometimes have social gatherings in the area.
Like many of the staff members, she is not looking forward to the elementary school moving. “I enjoy seeing the little ones in the hallway with their costumes for the different holidays.” She also says Princeton has been a very positive teaching environment. “When I was student teaching (in New Jersey), I never saw my vice-principal. Here, you work with each other. It’s a great professional environment. It benefits the students a lot. I really like the people I work with.”
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