ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, December 16, 1996              TAG: 9612170096
SECTION: NEWSFUN                  PAGE: NF-3 EDITION: METRO 

TEACHER OF THE WEEK

Some people might think Eleanor Saunders has things backward at Marion Primary School. The first-grade teacher will put your name on the board if you're good and she actually wants her pupils to talk.

Saunders, who says she believes in rewarding good behavior, started the "happy list," where your name goes if you follow the class rules. When a pupil reaches a behavior goal, the class celebrates with "fun day."

"Ninety percent of the class is always good," Saunders said. "I try to win the others over."

Another way Saunders encourages positive behavior is to urge her pupils to talk. "We spend a lot of time letting the children talk," she said. "We learn how to listen, too, when we do."

Saunders, in her 26th year of teaching says she loves teaching first-graders because of their enthusiasm for learning.

"They want to learn to read more than anything in the world," she said. "They're thrilled when they do. They're always reading."

A Danville native who grew up in Richmond, Saunders majored in math at Virginia Commonwealth University. She and her husband are the parents of twin boys, 26-year-old college graduates. Saunders enjoys tennis, singing and riding her bike.

LENGTH: Short :   32 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Eleanor Saunders, First grade, Marion Primary School