Continued from page 4 “I definitely would have taken her home at anytime,” Childers says. “I would have come with you,” Cohen immediately replies. Sitting in small, pint-size chairs in front of bright, primary-colored tables, the ladies laugh and continue the conversation without missing a beat. They chat about the kids, classroom toys, their families or about what one of the students said earlier in the day. “I had one of the fourth-graders ask me, ‘so, you’re going to Inman with me, right?’ I said, ‘No,’” Cohen says laughing. The ladies start “remember when” stories and often finish each other’s sentences. “I went to her wedding, to her baby shower, to her gender reveal party,” Childers says as Cohen looks at her son, 10-week-old Walter. Being a teacher for nearly a quarter of a century, Childers says if anyone else were taking her place, she would worry — worry about the students, her classroom — it would simply be weird. But with Cohen as her replacement, it feels just right. “I just feel comfortable passing everything to her that she needs,” Childers says. While it’s nice that Cohen will have a classroom full of tangible items, the more important things passed down are traditions. “When my kids in my class go to first grade, it’s sad for me. They all pass my room and come in for hugs,” Childers says. “But I told these kids that Mrs. Cohen is going to be here. They had Mrs. Cohen for the first half of the year for student teaching. So, she is going to get the hugs.” That’s right, Cohen did her student teaching with Childers, so she’s not only familiar with Childers’ teaching methods, but with her students, as well. In fact, the sweet 5- and 6-year-olds watched Cohen’s pregnant belly grow as she was student teaching. “They were always saying funny things. They FaceTimed me in the hospital,” Cohen says. Once Walter was born, the students hung a photo of him on the white board — he is a part of this class too, they say. “Student teaching, we were co-teaching and it worked out really well. I didn’t have to worry about leaving my kids,” Childers says. Cohen agrees, adding that she thinks she gained much more by working with Childers than if she had done her student teaching elsewhere. “I feel like I had such a great experience from the beginning. She let me do whatever and she trusted me,” Cohen says. Cohen says student teaching in her old kindergarten classroom often triggered long-lost memories. “We would be doing a certain activity and all of a sudden a memory popped in my head that I didn’t even know I had. It was cool,” she says. 23 years of traditions Cohen, who graduated from Missouri State University in December, still has her kindergarten memory book. “Those photo albums have always been my favorite,” Cohen says. Continued on page 9 6 THE NEST NIXA PUBLIC SCHOOLS MAGAZINE Summer 2017
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