Columbia (WLTX) -- One Dreher High School English teacher is helping students excel long after they leave her classroom.
Amari Paulovic fills eager minds with prose and poetry, from Lord Byron to Shakespeare. She believes that the knowledge will carry them far in life.
"The kids in today's society need to be not only well-versed in the literature, but culturally literate. They understand that they may or may not ever need to read Shakespeare again, but the fact that they've read it allows them access to avenues that may have been closed to them before."
Her love of the written word brought her into the classroom, but that's not what has kept her there for 15 years. "I went into it originally not with any sort of utopic ideal, but because I loved the literature and I fell in love with the kids. That's what gave me the passion to help them and to go the extra mile...for them."
Her extra time and resources help students thrive in and outside the classroom as well. "I want the kids to go on and be successful after they've entered college, and that means spending extra time with them after school and helping them practice for the S.A.T. or helping them with essays."
Mrs. Paulovic says that graduating doesn't mean she stops being there for them.
"The kids know that they can come back and talk to me or ask me questions. I've written recommendations for them to get jobs and served as a reference. That makes me feel like they still need someone who can help them bridge that gap between being an adolescent and being an adult."
She and her family also assist those who are struggling financially. "These kids, in so many cases, need things that sometimes their parents can't provide; so, instead of tithing to our church, we sponsor kids with our own money to take the SAT who maybe don't qualify for the waivers. That's something that we've done for years."
Paulovic plans to continue to carry students under her wing in hopes of seeing that spark: "The most rewarding part is when... you see that light go on in their little eyes and there is that glimmer of recognition of the concept."
11/18/2009 9:04:44 AM
