Wvw Facing A Pair Of Key Tests This Week

All My Children: Bianca Stopped The Show

Sunday, January 07, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1E 





EDITOR'S NOTE: Each month, the Times Leader Newspaper in Education Advisory
Board selects a Teacher of the Month from nominations submitted in writing by
students, teachers, administrators and parents. To nominate a teacher for this
honor, contact Lisa Swan, NIE supervisor, by phone, 831-7393, or e-mail,
nie@leader.net. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 @BYLNBy JEFF DEAN Times Leader Correspondent &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pittston Area Intermediate Center fourth-grade teacher Martina Ryder has
been teaching for 30 years now, but in many ways she feels like she's just
starting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I'm still open to new ideas,'' said Ryder, who was voted the Times Leader
Newspaper in Education Teacher of the Month for December. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I wouldn't consider myself a new teacher - I've been around 30 years -
but I'm not stuck in the old methodologies either. I try to use new techniques
while implementing the old standards.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The result for Ryder is a combination of ever-changing projects and
activities tempered by a consistent expectation of excellence from herself and
her students. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Consider, for example, the Exeter Township resident's approach to her
favorite subject: mathematics. Recognizing the importance of learning the
basics before anything else, Ryder said she starts off each year ensuring that
all of her students have a solid foundation in addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 From there, with the basics firmly in hand, she moves her classes on to
bigger challenges, including riddles and word problems. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Every day we have a different word problem,'' she said. ``Today's was a
riddle. Yesterday's used shapes on a tic-tac-toe board. Then sometimes we use
the newspaper to find numbers and assign them place values.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Her thinking, in other words, is to bring something new to the classroom
every day. That way, the subject matter stays fresh for her and her students. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Schools are changing,'' she said. ``If anything, teachers have to be more
flexible than ever. So many programs come and go. So many techniques come and
go. There is a lot more of a relationship between subjects now. Everything is
very intercurricular. I like it. I'm enjoying it more than I ever have
before.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Enter newspapers, said Ryder. By incorporating real-world facts into math
problems, students have to use skills from a wide array of subjects to solve a
problem. Reading, science and mathematics regularly intermingle in a single
word problem. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Plus, she said, students find interest in realizing that these math
problems they have to do actually relate to the world around them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Then sometimes on Fridays,'' she added with a laugh, ``we cut the papers
up and use them for art class. We cut and paste images we find. It can get
kind of messy, actually. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I'm always apologizing to our cleaning lady.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/MADALYN RUGGIERO &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Photo 1: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Martina Ryder, a fourth-grade teacher at Pittston Area Intermediate Center,
was named the Times Leader Newspaper in Education Teacher of the Month for
December. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Photo 2: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pittston Area teacher Martina Ryder helps some of her students. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pittston Area's Ryder Teacher Of The Month 
Thirty-year Veteran Of The Classroom Prides Herself On Being Able To Use ``new
Techniques While Implementing The Old Standards.''

Pittston Area's Ryder Teacher Of The Month Thirty-year Veteran Of The Classroom Prides Herself On Being Able To Use ``new Techniques While Implementing The Old Standards.''