As National Teacher Appreciation Week continues we highlight Perry Elementary’s Linda Huntington for her service in education. 

Huntington graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in elementary education and she is currently a kindergarten teacher at Perry Elementary with over 30 years of experience. She has also taught  at Roland-Story and Adel-DeSoto-Minburn School Districts. Huntington says her passion for teaching started in fifth grade when she got to help other students learn during an activity. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio what keeps her walking through the school doors every day. 

“I love the kids. I love to see the excitement in their eyes when they’re learning that ‘aha’ moment of when they get it in kindergarten. I kind of think of their little brains as a sponge. It is absorbing everything all the time and it’s amazing what they can learn and how far they progress, by the end of the year. Lots of little kids don’t know how to write their name or know the letters, and by the end they’re reading.”

Huntington explains that teaching is not a 9am to 5pm job and often she’ll find herself working hours past class dismal. She explains that teachers have to be committed to helping the students learn and become better people to be successful. 

“You’ve got to love kids. You have to want to make a difference. It’s not easy. So it’s something that you have to have a passion for. If you have that passion, you’ll love going to work every day. I say I don’t go to work. I don’t have a job. I get to do something that I love every single day.”

National Teacher Appreciation Week is from May 8th through the 12th.