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New face teaching first graders at BRES

KATRINA CLARK, Staff Reporter
Fri, 10/11/2013 - 9:00am
New first grade teacher Lindsey Ingraham, center, surrounded by her students who were “green” for the week. Green means perfect behavior, and their reward was eating lunch in the classroom with her. Students from left are: Dean Brewer, Lilliana Nein, Scarlett O'Brien, Zaid Osman, Angelina Patriotti, Madeline Orchard, Wyatt Lorrain. In front are Lysander LeFerre and Anna Elizarkov. KATRINA CLARK/Boothbay Register
New first grade teacher Lindsey Ingraham, center, surrounded by her students who were “green” for the week. Green means perfect behavior, and their reward was eating lunch in the classroom with her. Students from left are: Dean Brewer, Lilliana Nein, Scarlett O'Brien, Zaid Osman, Angelina Patriotti, Madeline Orchard, Wyatt Lorrain. In front are Lysander LeFerre and Anna Elizarkov. KATRINA CLARK/Boothbay Register
New first grade teacher Lindsey Ingraham, passing homemade cookies to her students. Clockwise from rear are: Angelina Patriotti, Anna Elizarkov, Lysander LeFerre, Dean Brewer, Zaid Osman, Lilliana Nein, Scarlett O'Brien, Madeline Orchard, and Wyatt Lorrain. KATRINA CLARK/Boothbay Register
New first grade teacher Lindsey Ingraham, passing homemade cookies to her students. Clockwise from rear are: Angelina Patriotti, Anna Elizarkov, Lysander LeFerre, Dean Brewer, Zaid Osman, Lilliana Nein, Scarlett O'Brien, Madeline Orchard, and Wyatt Lorrain. KATRINA CLARK/Boothbay Register

Lindsey Ingraham begins each workday the same way at Boothbay Region Elementary School: surrounded by 16 laughing, happy first-graders eager to learn and play in room 107.

Ingraham is new this year to BRES, taking over for Lucy Spaulding who is now teaching the kindergarten class. She is a 25-year-old graduate of the University of Vermont and she holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She has previously taught in Georgetown.

“Ever since I was very young, I knew I wanted to teach and I knew I wanted to teach first-graders specifically. I'm where I always wanted to be in life,” Ingraham said.

She finds the most challenging part of teaching is making sure every child has one-on-one time with their teacher, but works to ensure it happens.

“I teach in a broad way to the group,” Ingraham said. “When teaching math, sometimes students don't understand abstract concepts such as 2+3. So when I see students aren't understanding, I change the way I teach from abstract to hands-on. I use blocks to demonstrate, or word the problem differently using objects kids are familiar with.”

“The greatest reward in teaching is when you see a student realize they are learning,” Ingraham said. “If a child is struggling, it's important to figure out why and then find an alternative so they can more forward.”

Ingraham has faced this challenge when teaching before. A student was having problems and acting out by bullying the other kids. Ingraham worked with the student one-on-one, and after some time he was able to take what he had learned and successfully teach the rest of the class the concepts.

“He went from a frustrated to a proud young boy,” Ingraham said. “It was very rewarding.”

Ingraham grew up in Vermont, lives in Damariscotta and used to reside in East Boothbay. She plans to advance her education by pursing her master's degree in the future.

“Children are very powerful; they represent our future. I'm proud to give back to the community,” Ingraham said. “Every morning is a new opportunity, and I'm very lucky to be a teacher.”

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