TEACHER'S CORNER: LAUGHTER HELPS LEARNING

Franklin Elementary School teacher Julie Harrington believes laughter aids learning.

Harrington, in her 14th year of teaching, said students perform better when they enjoy the learning environment. She encourages her kindergartners to be independent thinkers and initiate research."We laugh a lot," said Harrington. "I want them to be able to find answers and not wait to be spoon-fed."Harrington said one of her funniest classroom experiences occurred because she didn't follow her own advice. A student bought the class a hamster as a pet, and based on information provided by the pet store, the class voted to name the hamster Spike."We had Spike about one and a half weeks and discovered babies in the cage," Harrington said. The trick to working with younger students lies in how a question is asked. "I ask lots of open-ended questions to encourage the students to talk," she said. Harrington said she always wanted to be a teacher because she enjoys helping others to love learning. Watching a child discover something new also is very gratifying, she said.

Harrington has taught in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and New Hampshire. She and her husband, Rick, have two daughters, Jessica, 16, and Stephanie, 12.

She enjoys reading and traveling with her husband on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. She also enjoys spending time with the family's pets, Oreo the dog, Flip the cat and Fuzzy the guinea pig.