Teacher Feature – Mrs. Sue Johnson
When Sue Johnson was five years old, she loved her kindergarten teacher and wanted to be just like her when she grew up. Mrs. Craft taught her how to climb the fireman’s pole that was in the center of the classroom and let her be a gas station attendant in the big block area.
“Mrs. Craft was tall, thin, and had great smiley wrinkles. I too eventually got these smiley wrinkles,” chuckled Johnson a native San Diegan who is retiring at the end of this school year after 35 years in the classroom.
Johnson’s first teaching job was a second/third grade combination class at Feaster Elementary School. She soon realized that she preferred teaching younger children and started a program called PAL (Primary Academic Lab). This was a class for students who had finished kindergarten but weren’t quite ready for first grade.
“I loved this grade level but funding wasn’t available and after 3 years in PAL I started teaching kindergarten,” said Johnson. “Hilltop Drive Elementary became my home 16 years ago and it was an instant fit for me. I have developed so many close and wonderful friendships with both staff members and families. Several of my students in my first Hilltop class are now parents themselves. I guess this makes me a grand-teacher.”
One of the most exciting things about teaching for Johnson is when her students begin to read. She compares it to watching your own child taking their first step. They work so hard at it and then one day their face lights up and they “get it”. She loves to read and feels it is a real privilege to share this gift with children.
She feels her biggest teaching challenge is to make sure that she meets the grade level expectations but still makes kindergarten fun and exciting. This is quite a balancing act and she strives each day to make her program enticing enough so that students really want to come to school.
There are no “typical” days in kindergarten. Her favorite part of the day is greeting her students in the morning.
“I am privy to their daily dreams and excitement and am often the first to know that a tooth is wiggly or that they kicked their first goal. Sometimes I’m greeted with notes of love that start out as pictures and squiggles at the beginning of the school year and later in the year turn into letters that I can read,” said Johnson
Johnson feels that science activities are key in her classroom. Whether it is watching snails or observing a real octopus, the kindergarten team at Hilltop uses science to entice students to practice reading and writing skills. It is also an excellent way to learn vocabulary.
One of the most interesting things that happened to her as a teacher occurred a few years ago when she was invited to attend an awards ceremony presented by the San Diego Chargers. Hilltop Drive had been given a grant for a new playground structure and she was there to receive the check as she had written up the grant proposal for the school.
“It was at the Hotel Del in Coronado and I was surrounded by sports figures that I had no idea who they were,” said Johnson. “My sports crazy families back at Hilltop couldn’t believe that I didn’t ask for autographs or pictures. Now, if it had been Eric Carle, the greatest kids’ author and illustrator, I would have been first in line to meet him.”
As Johnson’s teaching career comes to an end, she hopes that she has helped many students learn to love learning. Over the years, many of her students have come back to visit her.
“When they share their memories of kindergarten it always involves the hunt we made for the gingerbread man or Kinderbear’s adventures, said Johnson. “Little did they know that those were merely ‘carrots’ to encourage them to read and write.
Sue lives in San Diego with her husband Ed. They have two children who are now adults. Megan is their daughter. Their son Matt is married to their daughter-in-law, Shana. Matt and Shana have an 8 month old son, Silas, who is their grandson. Sue and Ed also have a dog named Maggie who is half labrador and half poodle. They call it a "doodle”.
When Sue Johnson was five years old, she loved her kindergarten teacher and wanted to be just like her when she grew up. Mrs. Craft taught her how to climb the fireman’s pole that was in the center of the classroom and let her be a gas station attendant in the big block area.
“Mrs. Craft was tall, thin, and had great smiley wrinkles. I too eventually got these smiley wrinkles,” chuckled Johnson a native San Diegan who is retiring at the end of this school year after 35 years in the classroom.
Johnson’s first teaching job was a second/third grade combination class at Feaster Elementary School. She soon realized that she preferred teaching younger children and started a program called PAL (Primary Academic Lab). This was a class for students who had finished kindergarten but weren’t quite ready for first grade.
“I loved this grade level but funding wasn’t available and after 3 years in PAL I started teaching kindergarten,” said Johnson. “Hilltop Drive Elementary became my home 16 years ago and it was an instant fit for me. I have developed so many close and wonderful friendships with both staff members and families. Several of my students in my first Hilltop class are now parents themselves. I guess this makes me a grand-teacher.”
One of the most exciting things about teaching for Johnson is when her students begin to read. She compares it to watching your own child taking their first step. They work so hard at it and then one day their face lights up and they “get it”. She loves to read and feels it is a real privilege to share this gift with children.
She feels her biggest teaching challenge is to make sure that she meets the grade level expectations but still makes kindergarten fun and exciting. This is quite a balancing act and she strives each day to make her program enticing enough so that students really want to come to school.
There are no “typical” days in kindergarten. Her favorite part of the day is greeting her students in the morning.
“I am privy to their daily dreams and excitement and am often the first to know that a tooth is wiggly or that they kicked their first goal. Sometimes I’m greeted with notes of love that start out as pictures and squiggles at the beginning of the school year and later in the year turn into letters that I can read,” said Johnson
Johnson feels that science activities are key in her classroom. Whether it is watching snails or observing a real octopus, the kindergarten team at Hilltop uses science to entice students to practice reading and writing skills. It is also an excellent way to learn vocabulary.
One of the most interesting things that happened to her as a teacher occurred a few years ago when she was invited to attend an awards ceremony presented by the San Diego Chargers. Hilltop Drive had been given a grant for a new playground structure and she was there to receive the check as she had written up the grant proposal for the school.
“It was at the Hotel Del in Coronado and I was surrounded by sports figures that I had no idea who they were,” said Johnson. “My sports crazy families back at Hilltop couldn’t believe that I didn’t ask for autographs or pictures. Now, if it had been Eric Carle, the greatest kids’ author and illustrator, I would have been first in line to meet him.”
As Johnson’s teaching career comes to an end, she hopes that she has helped many students learn to love learning. Over the years, many of her students have come back to visit her.
“When they share their memories of kindergarten it always involves the hunt we made for the gingerbread man or Kinderbear’s adventures, said Johnson. “Little did they know that those were merely ‘carrots’ to encourage them to read and write.
Sue lives in San Diego with her husband Ed. They have two children who are now adults. Megan is their daughter. Their son Matt is married to their daughter-in-law, Shana. Matt and Shana have an 8 month old son, Silas, who is their grandson. Sue and Ed also have a dog named Maggie who is half labrador and half poodle. They call it a "doodle”.