TEACHER'S CORNER: ELAINE PONDER TEACHES FOURTH GRADERS AT ST. PAUL LUTHERAN

JACKSON -- For Elaine Ponder, teaching began while she was a grade school student at Grace Lutheran School in Uniontown.

"It was a two-room school," Ponder said. "The older students were often `enlisted' to help out the younger ones.

"I enjoyed having the privilege of giving spelling tests to some of the younger ones on certain occasions."

Ponder teaches fourth grade at St. Paul Lutheran School in Jackson where she has taught for the last 11 years.

She attended St. Paul's College High and St. Paul's College at Concordia.

"I have fond memories of St. Paul in that I had a lot of opportunities to meet different people as I traveled with the drama club and choir," Ponder said.

She graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1980 and is currently working on a masters degree in education at Southeast.

Ponder feels that the greatest challenge in teaching is meeting the individual needs of the students in the class.

"It's difficult to adapt educational objectives to meet the needs of each and every one of the students," she said, "especially when class size exceeds 25 students.

"I feel I am privileged to be able to incorporate Christian values with my lessons."

Ponder lives at Uniontown with her husband, Rick, and their three daughters, Annette, Erin and Brittany.

In her spare time, she enjoys crafts and painting with oils and acrylics.