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

DATE: MONDAY, December 12, 1994                   TAG: 9501190011
SECTION: NEWSFUN                    PAGE: NF-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TEACHER OF THE WEEK

One of the things Patricia Cockey says she enjoys most about teaching fourth-graders is their enthusiasm. "They get real excited when they accomplish something," she said.

And Cockey gives her pupils plenty of opportunity to accomplish something. And when they do, she rewards them well.

For instance, when Cockey's pupils complete a writing assignment, they edit each assignment as a group, then rate each other's writings on a scale from 1 to 5. No one knows who the assignments belong to. The pupil with the highest rating has his or her writing and picture displayed on a "writer's hall of fame."

Cockey says she's noticed a marked improvement in her pupils' writing. "They just grin as I'm reading them now. They've noticed they're giving higher ratings."

Cockey routinely rewards her pupils for responsible behavior by giving out tickets each week. They may use the tickets to shop in Cockey's Christiansburg classroom store, which contains items such as books, erasers and baseball cards; earn a homework pass; or eat lunch with the teacher.

"I love to go to school. Mrs. Cockey makes learning fun" said the pupil who nominated her.

Married and the mother of Martha, 11, and Patrick, 9, Cockey enjoys reading, swiming and following the Baltimore Orioles.

by CNB