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The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Janice Givens
Teacher of the Month
By Crystal Patriarche
Givens has had a great influence on what Kilcrease is going to do after high school this year. "Mrs. Givens chose me as an editor for the yearbook and taught me a lot about putting the layouts together," she says. "She saw that I was really interested in this, and by allowing me to fulfill this position, it has made me realize that I want to pursue this as a career. She would always talk to me about what I wanted to do, and has always been very supportive. I think she was very thrilled when I told her I wanted to be a journalist!"
Givens says teaching is different today than when she started nine years ago. In her opinion, emotional endurance, dedication and understanding are the most important qualities to teaching today. "Our students bring a great deal of baggage when they come through that door each day," she says. "We must make school a place where they are each equal, valued and essential. They must feel that way. In order to face the students each day you must be prepared to do those things. It takes a multitude of preparation hours, but it can be done."
According to Givens, apathy is her greatest challenge. She sees hopelessness in so many students today. They feel that they cannot make a difference so they don't even want to think about it. "My job is to not only make them want to change the world, but to help them determine and care about what is wrong in it," she says.
