Lacey Gandy
Fourth-grade teacher
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Falls Church
Years teaching: 9
There’s never enough time to be the teacher you know you can be. So many outside variables come into play. The kids are what’s most important. It’s not the end of the world if 25 of the 50 emails I get each day go unread or I don’t respond to them.
I’m building a classroom community of Gandylandians. In Gandyland, kids feel welcome, safe to make mistakes and free to be themselves. I let them choose where to work, who to work with and how to demonstrate their knowledge.
Children haven’t changed but the influences on children have changed. We cannot fathom what the world is going to be like when our students are adults. This makes it hard to educate for the future. We do know that technology is going to be part of that world.
Has technology altered how I teach? Yes and no. The kids come in expecting something fun, fast, snappy, easy and quick, and that is not what education is. Learning is hard and it’s laborious. But I do put less emphasis on lower-level thinking when the information is available online. And I allow students to create with an array of [tools] that show their understanding. They are creating videos, 3-D printing and are collaborating through Google Drive.
I always knew I wanted to be an educator. I don’t think my mother [Lorraine Gandy, a retired Arlington Traditional School teacher] influenced my decision, but I do think that subconsciously I am very much like my mom in the classroom. We both understand how theatrics can hook and engage students. This year she visited my class as a guest reader. One little girl turned to me and said, “She’s just like you.”
I love all the hugs and fist pumps I get. The classroom is sometimes like a three-ring circus, sometimes like heaven and sometimes like Comedy Central. It’s a great place to spend eight hours of your day.
–Lisa Rabasca Roepe