CORNING, N.Y. (WETM) – Karen Cleary teaches second grade at William E. Severn Elementary School and says teaching has been a passion and aspiration her entire life.

“Most of my career, I’ve been teaching second grade. I think second grade is the most exciting grade to teach. The growth that the children make is unbelievable,” said Cleary.

Karen has been teaching for twenty years. She strives to make learning fun and engaging and cares about her students reaching their full potential.

“We try to pick out some great books. We’re working on different comprehension skills. We practice fluency with partner reading,” she said. They get to pick who they’re reading with a lot of times as long as they’re making good choices. We’re constantly up and moving,” Clearly continues.

As learning changes, Karen says teachers should adjust their teaching style as a teacher is only as good as their class.

“You can’t do the same thing year after year, even though you’re teaching the same curriculum. Do different things with it to reach the different learners in your classroom,” she said. “I don’t feel like I have a job. I think I have the best life that could happen. I’m so pleased that I became a teacher”.