THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996 TAG: 9604260500
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
She's been in the classroom for 22 years, yet students, parents and others who know Toni Harbage say she still has the enthusiasm of a rookie.
She's the teacher students hope they get because she makes learning so ``fun.'' The teacher parents request. The teacher colleagues look up to because she's such a master.
She's also Suffolk's 1997 Teacher of the Year.
``I get a high off the children,'' said Harbage, who teaches second-graders at Nansemond Parkway Elementary. ``When I teach them and all of a sudden the light bulb comes on - and they catch the concept - it just gives me a charge.''
The recognition is quite an honor, she said.
But talk with her and one quickly gets the impression that she doesn't spend much time thinking about accolades.
She likes to focus on one thing: Getting the job done.
Harbage, 46, tries to memorize all of her lessons so she can ``fly with them'' in the classroom. She also enjoys researching topics on her own - to infuse lessons with the latest information.
Whenever there's an opportunity to make learning come to life, she grabs it. Like the time she had students measure a school wall to understand how large dinosaurs were.
``I find if there's even one moment of boredom, there's a good chance I might lose them,'' she explains. ``Every chance I get, I like to make things hands-on, relevant.''
Colleagues sing her praises. In fact, they sometimes stop by her room to check her out in action.
Parents also have heard about the woman who runs on Energizers.
``She's one of the most caring, perceptive teachers I've ever dealt with,'' said Jeannie Brooks, whose two sons - now 12 and 8 - both had Harbage for second grade.
``If they could have had her for three or four years running, I would have been ecstatic.'' ILLUSTRATION: Toni Harbage tries to make learning come to life for her
second-grade students.
by CNB