Priscilla Sweeney teaching first graders in her first year at Calvary Day School
Sweeney says she always thought she wanted to teach second grade but she’s glad she ended up in first grade.
Sweeney says she always thought she wanted to teach second grade but she’s glad she ended up in first grade.
Sweeney says she always thought she wanted to teach second grade but she’s glad she ended up in first grade.
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Priscilla Sweeney is a first-year, first-grade teacher at Calvary Day School. The California native moved to Savannah four years ago. Sweeney says it was one of her teachers who inspired her to teach.
"My second-grade teacher back home was always encouraging and sweet. She gave us a safe space and made learning so much fun. I knew I wanted to do the same thing," Sweeney said.
She says her first class in her teaching career is full of great kids. "They’re so sweet. They’re young enough to where they still want hugs and they want to have fun with everything," Sweeney said.
Sweeney says she always thought she wanted to teach second grade but she’s glad she ended up in first grade.
"I love first grade. I think it’s the best age. You get to really see the lightbulbs go off,” Sweeney said. "It’s so rewarding. It’s so validating. As a teacher you often question ‘am I doing enough?’ 'Am I doing okay?' 'Am i doing a good enough job for them?' When they start understanding something it’s reassurance for you but it’s also sweet for them because you see them grow so much.”
Sweeney says while she doesn’t necessarily have a favorite subject to teach, she does hope she’s teaching lessons beyond the textbook.
"Be confident in themselves, their answers, and who they are. I try and incorporate God as much as I can into our lessons and just know how loved they are by god as well,” Sweeney said
Sweeney said being nominated and winning this award means everything to her.
"It’s funny because the day before this all happened, I was praying like ‘let me know that I'm doing an okay job.’ Just give me some sort of reassurance, and then this happened. It was really sweet and validating," she said.
Click here to see other teachers who have been honored with the WJCL 22 Teacher Feature Award.