TEACHERS
OF THE
YEAR DAVID MAGEE
child some autonomy
by offering your student
opportunities to make
small, but important
choices every day. Let
them pack their own
snack, choose a time
to set their alarm or
pick out their own
clothes the night before.

Giving a second-grader
responsibility helps supply
them with a positive sense
of control.

SECOND-GRADE TEACHER AT HORACE
MANN ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL IN
WASHINGTON, D.C.

NOMINATED BY:
JEN DRYER.

“David Magee works
incredibly hard to
not just provide the
opportunities and
inspiration for children
to grow academically,
but also socially
and emotionally. He
thinks deeply about
the whole child, and
works to help children
in this important
emotional year begin to
understand themselves
as learners. David also
helps his students learn
how to advocate for
themselves in how they
best learn.

“To help destigmatize
learning differences,
he provides ‘Tier 1’
interventions for all
children, like offering
any child a set of noise
cancelling headphones
to help maintain focus
during individual work
time. David really knows
his students as people,
as learners and as
citizens of his classroom
and the school. He sets
high expectations and
helps students better
understand themselves.

This is not something
I’ve seen many teachers
do, and it’s incredibly
powerful for children at
this age and stage in
their lives.”
Heading into this new
school year, what are
you most excited for?
What originally got you
interested in teaching?
After college, I spent time
exploring professions in
healthcare and consulting.

While I enjoyed the
collegiality and the
challenges that come
with these environments,
I never felt like my full
suite of skills were being
employed. I had this
gnawing feeling that I
could, and should, be
doing more with myself. I
wanted to fi nd my calling,
and spoke to my family
and friends. Much to my
shock, people kept saying
the same thing, “You
would be an amazing
teacher!” As soon as that
idea was introduced, I
knew I had found my path.

Why do you think
teachers are important?
Everyone remembers
their teachers in great
detail, don’t they? We can
still hear their voices in
our minds from time to
12 September 2018
washingtonFAMILY.com time, their specifi c praise
or discreet criticism, their
jokes or sincere advice,
their empathy and
tough love. It was those
moments that changed us
the most, because it was
those moments where
we felt known and cared
for. Teachers are guides
who prepare children
for a world that they are
beginning to discover.

In this capacity, we can
change how people view
themselves relative to
their world.

What is the single best
piece of advice you can
give parents of second-
graders? Children start to struggle
and push back when
they feel acted upon, so I
try to make every choice
theirs. In tough situations,
I offer two positive choices
and let the child decide
between those: “Do you
want to clean up before
your snack or after?” In
the same vein, allow your
I love the moment when
our students come up
with and vote on our class
names. Last year, we were
the “Helpful Potato Bugs,”
and before that, we were
the “Red Eared Sliders.”
Our students also come
up with a new name for
the tarantula, which is our
class pet. Last year, she
was “Octavia,” and before
that, the kids voted to call
her “You know who … .”
Do you have any tried
and trusted ideas or
activities for motivating
students? At the start of the year,
we create collage self-
portraits after reading
Todd Parr’s book, “It’s Okay
to Be Different.” During
this time, the students
start to celebrate what
makes them unique and
special, while appreciating
the differences that we
all bring to the classroom.

This activity is a perfect
way to do guided
discovery of our materials.

At the end of the project,
we use the students’
faces to decorate our
classroom!