This week we met with Ms. Bentley, a Preschool teacher. She went to Davenport High School. While at West, Ms. Bentley played softball and was a cheerleader. After graduating at West, she went to college at St. Ambrose. At St. Ambrose, she majored in Early Childhood Special Education. Ms. Bentley decided that she wanted to become a teacher in Elementary School and she never changed her mind. After graduating from college, she started teaching Preschool in Durant in August of 2007. Since Ms. Bentley started teaching, she has coached High School Cheerleading. Kory enjoys teaching at Durant, shopping, running at the gym, and hanging out with friends. As a teacher, she has gone on field trips to the Festival of Trees, the Pumpkin Patch, and going on walking trips around town. She has never really been mad at her class, but she has been frustrated with the behavior of older students around the Preschoolers.
We also asked Ms. Bentley how she likes the new technology. She likes that you can do new and different things on the IPads. Her students are very excited, although it is still very challenging for them. She has used them in a couple of different ways. Students that don’t sleep at nap time have used them to keep themselves quietly occupied. Because there are only five IPads in the Preschool, the problem of sharing occurs. The new technology has forced her to incorporate new things into the classroom. The IPads have also been by the special needs children so that they can participate in the same activity the other children are doing in a way that meets their needs. When asked if they use the technology a lot, her response was, “We use them at least once a week.” Overall Ms. Bentley has really enjoyed the new technology.
