Meet Walking Classroom Ambassador Tamra Mills. Tamra teaches fourth grade language arts at Newton County Elementary School in Mississippi. Tamra has been working in education for 21 years, and she is currently in her third year using The Walking Classroom.
What are your memories of yourself when you were in fourth grade?
Reading out of reader and not liking it.
What led you to become an educator?
For me, it was a calling.
Share your educational philosophy in one to three sentences.
“Provide an uncommon experience for your students and they will reward you with an uncommon effort and attitude.” (Dave Burgess, Teach Like a Pirate) Students must want to come to school. I try to make my classroom a place where students want to be.
What is your favorite content area/topic to teach? Why?
I love to teach reading. Reading novels with my children is my favorite thing to do. I enjoy reading, and I love when my students do too.
What is your favorite podcast or Walking Classroom memory and why?
We love our Walking Classroom. My students beg me to use it every day. I love it when they hear something on a podcast that supports what we have discussed in class. The look on their faces is priceless.
What is your best teaching memory?
Last year, I transformed my classroom into a Winter Wonderland. My students absolutely loved it. Teaching students at Christmas is the best job ever.
What advice would you give to a new teacher?
Energy and kindness are priceless. Be enthusiastic and bring energy to the classroom. Always be kind. You never know a child’s struggles.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to read and run.
Name something you’d like to cross off your bucket list.
I would love to travel to New York City.
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