Tobin enjoys seeing the ‘lightbulb come on’

TOM PINNEY/DAILY FORUM
Read with me… Eugene Field first grade teacher Laura Tobin focuses on a group of students during her reading hour. The students were spelling out words with her on magnetic boards, then sounding the words out.

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While attending high school in her native Hamburg, Iowa, Laura Tobin started lifeguarding, coaching the community swim team, and teaching swimming lessons at the community pool. It was there she said she found her niche.

“I loved working with the kids,” Tobin said. “I worked there for nine years; I came back during the summer while I was in college.”

After graduating, Tobin came to Northwest Missouri State University to pursue her degree in elementary education. It wasn’t much of a choice for her.

“My older brother and dad both went to Northwest, so it was almost inevitable,” Tobin said. “I also knew they had a great education department and [Horace Mann].”

Getting into the educational field just worked for Tobin’s life plan.

“I knew when I was young that I wanted to be a mom,” Tobin said. “Being a teacher, I can follow around the same schedule that my kids follow, including getting the summer off.”

However, teaching isn’t as easy as it seems, Tobin explained.

“People don’t see how much work goes into teaching,” Tobin said. “It may seem like we can just give them busy work, but you really have to keep things moving to keep their attention.”

That point was painfully clear during this interview; every few minutes, as the students read to each other or silently to themselves, a different student would come up to “Mrs. Tobin” and ask a question. Yet it goes further than just answering lots of questions throughout the day.

“Others don’t see the work I take home with me after school,” Tobin explained. “They don’t see the times I’m working after I put my kids to bed, they don’t see me coming in on the weekends to get my room prepared.

“There’s so much more to teaching, more worry and stress outside of the school day.”

That includes the most challenging part of the job, which Tobin identified as teaching social skills.

“Character education and behavior education can be difficult,” Tobin said. “We’re teaching social behavior, like reasons why you can’t just hit someone because they won’t give your pencil back.

“They learn how to use their words, how to sit next to someone else, how to respect space … just the very basics of social behavior. And it always seems like there’s never enough time to teach it all.”

However, Tobin feels like it’s all worth it because she gets to work with the students every day.

“Spending time with the kids is my favorite,” Tobin said. “We get to do lots of fun activities, I get to listen to their stories and really get to know the kids over the school year.

“It’s all about the connections they make. When they get the lightbulb to come on over their head, you know you’ve made a difference. And they’re first graders, so it’s obvious when they make the connection – they tell you about it right away, and then explain all about how they got to that conclusion.”

For those looking to be teachers one day, Tobin had one piece of advice she wished she had received before she became a teacher: finish your Master’s degree before entering the workforce.

“It’s so hard to handle coursework, school, and a home life at the same time,” Tobin said. “I wanted my own classroom and to start teaching in my style so badly that I decided to put off the Master’s degree, and I wish someone would have told me to get it first.

“Having the Master’s degree gives you more opportunities, like going into administration at some point or specializing in reading programs.”

Jumping into the workforce was good for Tobin, though, and she can’t really see herself doing anything else.

“Nothing else seems as much fun or as fulfilling as teaching,” Tobin said. “Nothing else would give me as much time with my own children or as much of a chance to connect with children.

“Teaching … it’s just right for me.”