One Minute with an Educator: Mrs. Rominger
Name: Suzanne Rominger
Years in education: 14 years as a Special Education Teacher, but I started substitute teaching in the area schools in 1998.
Subject/Grade assignment this school year: Special Education Teacher, Tuscola High School, Teach Cross Categorical Classroom and Resource Geometry, Co-Teach Art and Family Consumer Science, Special Education Caseload Management.
What was your favorite subject in school? Technical Theater. We worked on stage construction, lighting, sound and other aspects of stage management. I was very involved in Theater in High School.
What is your favorite weekend activity? I enjoy going places I have never been. I like to plan short weekend adventures. I enjoy cooking too! I like to make different cultural foods, and experiment with flavors.
What is your favorite book? My favorite book is John Steinbeck’s, “East of Eden.” I loved how multi-layered the book was, and the theme “Timsel”.
What are you most looking forward to in your curriculum this month? I teach a functional curriculum to students with significant disabilities. Every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays we cook as a class, and perform science experiments! These activities are always tied to the weekly News2You current events and the kids REALLY enjoy this!
What are your students learning this week? In the cross categorical classroom we have monthly units of functional curriculum, this month is Keeping My Home Safe. We are learning about fire safety, electrical safety, and how to prevent accidents in the home by recognizing unsafe situations. Additionally, we focus on language development, and functional math skills such as telling time, Calendar, and counting money.
In Art we focus on fine motor development, and in Resource Geometry we are learning to convert units of customary and metric measurements to find the perimeter and area of plane figures and regular polygons.
What is your greatest motivator as a teacher? My greatest motivator as a teacher is seeing the gains students make in academics and in functional skills! I love to see the students, when they finally understand a concept or can perform a skill, show the confidence to try to learn the next concept or skill. A small step of success is a giant motivator for the students too!