Nancy Block teaches fourth grade at Webster Area School District. She has been teaching for 34 years.

What made you decide to become a teacher?
I was undecided when I went to USD, and I didn’t have teachers in my family, so I didn’t consider teaching. My friend said she’d go into education, so I thought I would try that too. From then, I knew, and I never regretted it.

Why is it important for students to understand history/government?
I’m in fourth grade, and we do South Dakota history. I try to get kids to feel pride in South Dakota history in particular, and in the history of their own families. These people who came to settle in Webster, the immigrants and the Native Americans, and we’re here today because of all the work our ancestors did.

I try to have the kids appreciate their past and understand their place in building their future in their community and in their state. They’re going to be leaders in their communities and state some day. They will play a role in future generations. The things they do today will affect the future. They’re 10, and they latch onto that pretty well.

What’s the best part of teaching?
The students and the connections that teachers make with students. Knowing that we’re role models for them. We earn their respect through our care for their well-being.

What’s the most challenging part of teaching?
Dealing with students who have a lot of behaviors, where it’s difficult, and you know they need a lot of support, and they struggle. When you see kids struggle, be it through a behavior issue, or the effects of family dynamics, it’s hard to watch that. There’s only so much you can do. I can do a lot with academics, but for those other factors, so much is out of my control. You wish you could give them an innocent, simple childhood, and sometimes that’s out of reach.

What’s one thing that has remained constant in education?
The teachers care about the students and we have their best interests at heart. Each student needs individual attention and has needs. Each teacher does their best to tailor their education to each student. Teachers care about kids. It’s hard to be in this job if you don’t care for kids – you can’t really fake it in teaching. You have to have a genuine interest and care for the students.

Tell me about the average fourth grader. What are they like?
They still have childhood innocence. They like their teachers. They aren’t worldly, they don’t know about things they shouldn’t know about.

They like to play, they know how to read, and they can solve problems. They can buy into a challenge that’s given to them at school. They get excited about projects. They’re engaged in their lessons.

Favorite class project you do with your class?
The family heirloom project. It’s based on a South Dakota history lesson. When we learn about the fur trade, I tell the students that the beaver pelts were very valuable. They were passed on from one generation to the next.

After that lesson, the kids go home and ask their parents about a special heirloom they have in their family, and the parents take a picture of it, and the parents send me the picture, and they fill out a form about the item. Then the student writes a little report about the item, and they share it with their classmates.

One girl had her great grandfather’s World War II hat, and she had a picture of her in the hat. There have been baptismal gowns that are passed down, and so many fascinating items. After that, I talk to the kids about if they have an item that they would like to pass down to their future generations. They talk about things they’d like to pass down We can stand on the ground where former grandparents stood, and we can wear something they wore. I’m fascinated with that.

What’s the most useful advice you can give to a new teacher who’s just starting out?
Take time to get to know your students’ needs and interests. Make it a point to call your students by name several times each day so they feel like they’re acknowledged as an individual and as a part of the group.

The academic part is the easy part. Getting through to the kids is the hard part. Building the trust with the students and parents, that you’re a team, to work together, that’s the important part.

Do you have anything to add?
In terms of the award, I’m humbled and honored. I love South Dakota history myself. I’ve learned a lot about it, and I have enjoyed learning it as well as passing on that love of learning and love of history to my students.