TEACHER'S CORNER: RHODES TRAVELS TO TEACH SPECIAL STUDENTS

Cindy Rhodes has become expert in working under special conditions with a special group of students.

Rhodes is an early childhood special education coordinator and teacher for the Oak Ridge Elementary School. Her special situation is the hourlong commute between the school and her home in Dexter, where she and her husband both grew up.

Rhodes said her love of her students in Oak Ridge made moving back to Dexter one of the hardest decisions she has had to face.

"My husband was already established in Dexter, and with both of our families there, we felt that was where we wanted to live," she said. "There was only one problem: I absolutely loved my job, my school and most of all, my students at Oak Ridge. I just couldn't see myself leaving at that time and being happy, so I didn't." Rhodes said she has commuted between Dexter and Oak Ridge every school day for two years, and she doesn't plan to stop soon.

Rhodes said her class is geared toward each student. One thing almost all of the students have in common, she said, is a lack of self-confidence. They have such low self-esteem that it has become an academic subject, she said.

"They become so frustrated in the classroom because of their learning difficulties that they give up, so we work on self-esteem as much as their academic skills," she said.

Students in Rhodes' class have a special point system to motivate them to improve their grades. They record grades of "C" or better on tests or quizzes on a "Blizzard" chart, and each recorded grade receives a designated number of points. At the end of each month, any student that has accumulated 100 points receives a blizzard from Dairy Queen.

"They also receive extra points when the classroom teacher reports that they have been participating in class, doing homework, etc.," Rhodes said. "They may also win prizes at the end of the month by receiving the most reward tickets in the resource room. I wanted them to realize that by not doing their homework or studying, they were setting themselves up to fail."

After school, Rhodes works with early childhood students. She said she enjoys the change of pace these students provide, and they enjoy the chance to be "big" and come to school. Sometimes, she said, they are confused about whether she is their teacher once they enter kindergarten.

"One boy last year would pop in my class out of the blue everyday and announce he was going to the bathroom or to recess," she said. "My assistant and I were puzzled why he kept doing this and I never knew how to respond. After three or four weeks, it finally dawned on me that even though he was in a different class, he still considered me his teacher and was letting me know where he would be. The next time he popped in, I quietly explained that I wasn't his teacher."

Rhodes said she has always wanted to be a teacher. Sometimes a student can be very challenging behaviorally or academically, she said, and it becomes frustrating, but somehow God always shows me that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. She said the most gratifying part of her job was helping the students relax in the class and gain knowledge and self-esteem.

"Hopefully, I'm able to ease some of their frustration with school," she said. "They know that they are accepted by me regardless, and they come to me when they experience trouble with something."