
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 6, 1994                   TAG: 9406090003
SECTION: NEWSFUN                    PAGE: NF-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TEACHER OF THE WEEK

Some of the most important lessons Dana Bevins teaches her third-graders are not multiplication tables and spelling words. Respect for each other and treating your fellow pupils like you would want to be treated are two of the guiding principles in Bevin's Blacksburg classroom.

"Be kind to each other - that's as important as math facts," says Bevins, who has taught for 10 years.

And although Bevins says she loves the transitions children make during their third-grade year, they "sometimes have trouble feeling like they belong," she said. "I try to steer them away from cliques. If they don't like someone, that's OK, they can leave them alone. They can respect someone even if they don't like them."

Mutual respect puts children at ease, Bevins said. And when children are at ease, they learn more. "When children feel comfortable, they're willing to take chances, she said.

Math is Bevins' favorite subject to teach and she's known for the silly stories she tells in hopes of making her pupils less intimidated by math. "She always smiles," said her nominator.

The mother of 8-year-old Andrew, Bevins enjoys exercise, reading and swimming.

by CNB