TEACHER'S CORNER: STUDENTS SHARE WRITING THROUGH 'AUTHOR'S CHAIR'

BENTON -- Kelly High School teacher Rae Anne Kloss-Alpers describes herself as a writing teacher rather than an English teacher.

Alpers is in her first year at Kelly High School. The former Cape Girardeau Central High School teacher said she enjoys working writing assignments into her English lessons and watching students improve their skills over a school year.

"My philosophy is that all aspects of language arts may be taught through writing," she said. "For instance, students can read the works of good writers and mimic their style, practice grammar techniques through writing and apply knowledge of short story elements by creating a short story of their own."

Alpers uses an "Author's Chair" to ensure students present their best work in class. By requiring students to read their work aloud, they also see the importance of writing for an audience and learn to have a focus and a reason to everything they write, she said.

"My students know from the first day of school that they will be sharing their pieces with me and their classmates while sitting in the "Author's Chair," she said. "Thus, because they know their peers will hear what they have written, my students tend to work harder on preparing their pieces."

A student's kindness prior to the current school year is something Alpers said she will never forget. Just as she began to feel nervous about working in a new school with new colleagues and students, a knock at her classroom door revealed a young man named Andrew. After introducing himself, he told her he liked the organization of her class and said he anticipated hers would be "a fun class."

"Andrew left such a positive impression on me about the caliber of kids we have at Kelly," she said. "I looked for him in the halls that first day, searching for a friendly, familiar face. Sure enough, I easily spotted his red hair and big smile."

Alpers attends St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and enjoys writing, gardening and cooking. She and her husband, Don, have been married four years.