BUCHANAN, N.D. (AP) -- After 25 years of teaching kindergarteners in Buchanan, Camie Readel has retired -- and her daughter and former student, Krista Readel, has taken her place.
"Education is very important to me, and I'm thrilled that she found it to follow in my footsteps," Camie said. "She will be a remarkable teacher."
Though she's retired, Camie still came to her old classroom at Pingree-Buchanan Elementary School on the first day of school, but this time it was to help Krista out, The Jamestown Sun reported.
"Well, I helped her a lot," Krista said with a smile. She asked Camie to help just to have an extra pair of hands in getting her 16 students and their school supplies in the right places on their very first day of school.
Krista's classroom belonged to her mother for 25 years, and during that time, Camie has seen all kinds of changes, both in the teaching material and in the students. Technology has become critical, and behaviors and classroom management have changed.
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Academic expectations have changed too, Camie said. Once, kindergarten students just learned the alphabet and maybe how to read and write one word -- d-o-g, for example.
"Now they end with several books they can read," Camie said.
Kindergarten is also an all-day, five-day-a-week thing, rather than being three days -- and most children go to preschool before kindergarten, Krista said.
The children themselves have more social skills when they start, but one thing about them hasn't changed, according to Camie.
"The love of little kids and their innocence, the youth, their hugs. That has been the most special part, the relationship you have with the kids," Camie said.
The children Camie once taught have had children of their own -- and now Krista is teaching them in that same classroom.
Krista always wanted to be a teacher, and she has her own kindergarten journal that says so to prove it. In fact, she's been teaching since she was just 5 years old -- her first students were her stuffed animals.
They might have had an easier time sitting still to learn than the kindergarteners, whose activities usually last no more than 15 minutes apiece. The downside of teaching that age group is how energetic they can be, Krista said.
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However, there are definitely rewards that go along with the job, too.
"They love being at school, and they love you," Camie said.
"The things they learn about, they get so excited about it," Krista added.
Information from: The Jamestown Sun, http://www.jamestownsun.com
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