Zeigler's 2005 Homecoming's "Parade Marshal"
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MARGURINE SHEFFER
SOUTHERN ILLINOISAN NEWSPAPER
MAY 15, 2005
By John D. Homan
Still going STRONG after all these years……..
80-year-old grade school teacher has no plans for retirement
Margurine Sheffer may be old enough to remember when the hickory stick was applied o the backside of students to get their attention in the classroom, but the longtime first-grade instructor has never had to rely upon such tactics to get her point across with the children she has taught.
A display of genuine kindness mixed with words of encouragement and backed by a firm, but gentle tone seems to do the trick just fine.
As she celebrated her 80th birthday on May 25, 2005, Sheffer is not yet finished teaching. In fact, she said she may have to be fired or become physically incapacitated before giving up her chalkboard.
Sheffer has taught school for more than 52 years in all, including the last 20 years working with first-graders at parochial schools, first in Du Quoin and now at Unity Christian School in Herrin. Her first 32 plus years were at Zeigler Elementary School.
Born in West Frankfort, Sheffer graduated from Zeigler High School in the early 1940s and attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She said she may have never made it through college to earn her degree if not for a helping hand from Zeigler druggist Leonard Green.
“He helped pay my way and allowed me to work for him on the weekends when not doing my homework,” Sheffer said. “He also helped me get my teaching job at Zeigler. He said I needed to go see Mr. Jennings (school superintendent Curt) and he was right. I was offered the job.”
A certified K-12 instructor, Sheffer began her teaching career at Zeigler at the sixth-grade level, but eventually accepted an opening at the first-grade level and hasn’t changed since.
“I feel that the first-grade level is what I was called to teach,” she said.
An avid supporter of phonics instruction, Sheffer drills students repeatedly on reading techniques through the use of short and long vowel sounds and then the introduction of consonants.
“From there, it’s a matter of blending the two and the use of diphthongs. If kids can pick up on sounds, they can learn anything,”she said. “Some teachers and administrators may not believe in phonics but it’s the only way to teach first-graders as far as I’m concerned.”
Sheffer said she learned the value of phonics when student teaching at West Frankfort. When she implemented the phonics method of teaching at Zeigler, her students’ test scores began to consistently outperform other first-grade classes statewide. Morever, many of her students were said to be reading at the third-grade level.
“Everybody in this classroom can read,” Sheffer said as she motioned to her pupils. “That’s my goal with each class I have—for them to be able to read by the time they leave here.”
Sheffer said most students today have a larger pool of knowledge as they enter formal instruction. She credits computers and television for making that a reality, but also points out that both can be distractions to children, as well.
“I don’t use any video instruction in my classroom,” she said. “And I really don’t use any books anymore either. I’ve pretty much memorized all the lesson plans by now.”
Besides teaching her students how to read, Sheffer also hammers home the fundamentals of spelling and math. On Thursday, her first-graders at Unity Christian School were working triple-digit addition problems on worksheets and learning about compound words.
Sheffer said she doesn’t assign much homework for her students, perhaps some spelling words from time to time, but that’s about it.
“The way I see it is that these kids are probably tired at the end of the school day much like I am, so why should I give them more work to do at home? If I’m doing my job here in the classroom, they shouldn’t have to work at home, too. They should be outside running around and having fun being a kid.”
Another key to a successful student, Sheffer said, is individualized instruction. “You need to give individual attention to all of your students, especially the slower-learning ones so that they don’t get left out, and most of the time, you will find that the slower students will catch up to the others. Everybody’s important to me; I don’t want any kid left out.”
Sheffer’s aid, Becky Jack, has been friends with Sheffer for nine years, including the last three in the classroom, “Margurine is such a wonderful example of a teacher,” Jack said. “She believes that a strong reading foundation is very important with first-graders. She truly loves the children and believes in her heart that this is what the Lord has called her to do.”
Unity Christian School Principal Dan Johnson said he is glad to have Sheffer in the classroom and has no plans to look for a replacement. “Not only does Mrs. Sheffer have a lot of teaching experience, but just does such a wonderful job teaching the kids how to read,” Johnson said. “Nobody fails in her classes. She works with them until they can do the job. She’s one incredible lady.”
Still residing in Zeigler, Sheffer has been widowed since 2001. Her husband, Joseph, was also a teacher, having taught in the Zeigler-Royalton School District for 38 years. The couple has three children, Leslie, who lives in Kentucky, Becky, who lives in Virginia, and Joey, who lives in northern Illinois. There are also three grandchildren.
In her spare time, Sheffer enjoys working in her garden and often cans many of the vegetables from her garden. She also stays busy at church in DuQuoin and with a senior adult ministries group that meets once a month.
“I’m really glad that I came back to teach after retiring from the public school system,” Sheffer said. “God has kept me in good health, and because of that, I don’t plan to retire anytime soon. I think I’m happiest when I’m teaching my first-graders.”