ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 14, 1996 TAG: 9610150049
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-3 EDITION: METRO
Training adult employees to use computers and teaching young children may seem a world apart, but for Kimberly Mahan, one seemed a natural progression to the other.
For several years Mahan helped train for a corporate travel agency in Atlanta. Because of the experience she received in training and teaching adults, she decided to return to Roanoke College and earn an elementary education degree, a decision she says she hasn't regretted.
Children, she said, are easier to teach than adults. "Kids are smarter; they want to learn. They're easier to teach, maybe because adults sometimes know too much."
Mahan, who teaches all subjects at Roanoke's Garden City Elementary, said she often calls upon her sense of humor to help make her pupils feel comfortable. "I like to tell them funny stories about something that's happened to me or someone I know," she said. "That way, they can relate to me."
Married to a fellow teacher, Mahan enjoys camping, canoeing and hiking.
LENGTH: Short : 30 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Kimberly Mahan, Fifth grade, Garden City Elementaryby CNBSchool