St. Petersburg, Florida---At 74th Street Elementary school in St. Petersburg you wouldn't expect a teacher with a name like Killinger to be so kind and gentle.
But Barbara Killinger is known around school as the "Mama" of second grade.
And like any good mama she is loving and nurturing.
Killinger didn’t decide to become a teacher until she was 39 years old. She had spent many years as a volunteer at her son’s school. One of the teachers saw something special in her and eventually talked her into going back to school.
Killinger says it’s one of the best decisions she’s ever made. She has been in the classroom for 23 years now.
During that time she has learned how to keep her young students in line. But it’s not by giving them time outs or raising her voice.
She gets her students pay attention to her by getting them to focus on fish.
On each table in her classroom there is a beta fish.
The students have given them some pretty creative names too.
There’s Little Webbie, Swimmy Bubbles, Mark Henry and Sean.
Killinger says while she is teaching a lesson to the class, each fish is teacher her students a lesson too.
- Barbara Killingger?74th St. Elementary School
- “The fish allows them to be kind and gently to something. And they could come in the morning and not feel good at all. Then al of sudden that little beta fish will come and chase their eraser around and all of a sudden the child's whole outlook it totally different.”
The students obviously enjoy her class. But Mrs. Killinger's kindness extends beyond the border of the school yard.
On her modest teachers salary she has been known to buy students notebooks, supplies and more.
- Barbara Killinger/74th St. Elementary School
- “Sometimes the parents might just need one step closer to help them. So if a child can't be out in P.E. and can't run and participate because he doesn't have gym shoes then I buy them gym shoes because the parents are already doing everything they can.”
Killinger says she's just doing what she can to help each child succeed.
So does this "Mama" of second grade have a dream job? You bet.
She says she's already doing it.
Ginger Gadsden, Tampa Bay's 10 News