Golden Apple Award: Mariah Dahlin, Ooltewah Elementary
COLLEGEDALE, TN (WDEF) – Patience and kindness are two essential qualities for an elementary school teacher. Mariah Dahlin has plenty of both. Her students at Ooltewah Elementary love her for it. You can see why in this week’s Golden Apple Award.
Bethanie Reynolds is the Principal at Ooltewah Elementary School.
She says, “Ms. Dahlin is amazing, we have a great kindergarten team, and she has been a fantastic addition to our team. ”
Ms. Dahlin remembers, ” I chose teaching. I wanted to help people. So, I started volunteering at my kids’ school when they went to kindergarten, and I fell in love with the creativity and, the kids, they love learning. And I thought, I can do this. So, I went back to, I had my bachelor’s degree, I went back to college, got my master’s degree in a year, and then I became a teacher.”
Christina Moore is the Supervisor for Exceptional Education at Ooltewah Middle.
She says, “I’ve been extremely impressed with how she’s able to build relationships with her students and also her parents. Every time I’ve been able to come in to observe her, her instruction is right on task. It’s on target. She does a great job.”
Ms. Dahlin concludes, “When I first began teaching, I have so many coworkers that were wonderful teachers, and I didn’t want to recreate that wheel. I went into their classrooms. I asked them questions. I watched how they taught the kids. And I learned so much from my coworkers. In particular, I remember Mrs. Watson, my first teacher that I was with. She was she was gentle. She was kind. She loved the kids and helped them enjoy learning. So, thank you, Mrs. Watson, for helping me become the teacher that I am today. What I hope for, for my students is that they look back at this kindergarten year and they just have a love of and a love of learning. I want my kids to have a love of learning. I want them to find enjoyment. I want them to know how to research something. Dive into it. Be able to read and write and just learn so much from whatever it is that they want to, pursue. So, I hope that I pass that on to the kids, that they just, always find enjoyment in the learning process.”
