(This is the first in a series of stories about the teachers in the Chelsea District Schools. If you would like to nominate a teacher for a feature, please email Lisa Allmendinger at [email protected].)
By Crystal Hayduk
Ask any North Creek Elementary School student about first grade teacher Eric Robinson, and chances are you’ll be rewarded with a cheerful account of his music. You might even be treated to a song and dance.
Robinson was hired 11 years ago, one week after school started. With classrooms bursting at the seams, a dilemma presented itself. Children had already begun to form attachments to teachers and classmates, so which ones would be reassigned to the new teacher? Robinson asked Principal Marcus Kaemming for permission to visit each classroom to recruit his own students. With guitar in hand, he did just that.
Gabby Gonzalez-Nagy, now a high school junior and cadet teacher working with Robinson, was in his first class. “When Mr. Robinson came to my original first grade class to see if he could get kids to switch to his class, he came with his guitar and I automatically wanted to switch to his class. I thought he was so cool and would be such a fun teacher,” she says.
“Mr. Kaemming compared me to the Pied Piper,” Robinson says with a laugh.
He studied music education during his first year of college at Eastern Michigan University. “Then I thought, why don’t I just teach and bring music into the regular classroom?” he recalls.
It was that light bulb moment turned into a theme that became part of his teaching philosophy.
Every day begins with group singing to set a happy tone for the day, and the guitar is often brought out at other times of the day for an impromptu dance party if the children seem to need to expend some excess energy.
Gonzalez-Nagy recalls her memories of first grade. “Everyone in the class all got together to sing and dance. It was a great way for us to make friends and get along.”
Robinson says that learning in a classroom climate that is safe and happy is crucial for children, especially at a young age. “People usually remember the feelings,” he emphasizes, “whether those are good, confident feelings, or traumatic ones.”
Robinson remembers how he felt as a young child. “Let’s just say I had a lot of issues. I was a wiggler; I had problems attending. By first and second grade, I didn’t feel like I was good at school. I began to feel comfortable with being in trouble.”
But he credits his mom for helping him to turn that feeling around by fourth grade, through repeated encouragement that whatever life had in store for his future would require lots of energy. His mother’s gift of affirmation is one that he strives to pass on to his students, through building relationships and helping children to see their potential.
His energy was put to good use in college when he double majored in children’s literature and theater for the young, and minored in earth science. Along with the experience gained in four classes in improvisation, Robinson’s enthusiasm has proven invaluable in keeping the attention of a couple dozen six year olds day after day.
Robinson embraces ideas that will help children to succeed, including the use of stability balls in place of regular chairs, which permit tiny, continuous movements that promote core strength and improve concentration.
As the chairperson of the technology enhancement team at North Creek Elementary School, he also experiments with ways to enhance instruction through technology. This year, Robinson records himself providing morning instructions. The video plays continuously in the classroom while he greets students at the door individually. Using this method of “teacher cloning” allows each student to get what he or she needs at the moment.
Gonzalez-Nagy admires, and hopes to someday emulate, Robinson’s ability to make learning fun, which helps the children to pay attention.
“If kids are excited to come to class and want to be there, you’ve won the battle,” Robinson says.
Kaemming says that Robinson “functions from a kid-first perspective,” building relationships with his students and their families. “He’s always been quick to lighten the situation with humor and light-heartedness. With that said, Eric also helps push his students individually. I would love to have my own kids in his class!”
