WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderTeacher of the Week: Mrs. Garnhart

Teacher of the Week: Mrs. Garnhart

By Laura Gibbs

ROCKFORD (WREX) - One Rockford English teacher raised her kids first before she started teaching high schoolers. She's only been on the job for 3 years but students notice her motherly techniques.

This Honors English class at East High School hangs on the words read by Mrs. Katrina Garnhart. The book Les Misérables teaches students about overcoming obstacles but so does Mrs. Garnhart. She's the "go-to" room especially for this group of Freshmen.

Student Rebecca Geeser says, "We have a lot of questions about things and she answers them for us and everyday she has kids, Juniors and Seniors that come in and talk to her. So it's not just us."

Geeser nomiated Mrs. Garnhart for her honesty saying this is one teacher who doesn't sugar coat issues. Mrs. Garnhart's known for listening to students whether it's an issue dealing with various high school drama or questions about the world.

Mrs. Garnhart states, "In a matter of 3 - 4 years they're going to be adults. They need to be productive members of society. I think that the sooner I talk to them and treat them as adults the sooner they will start acting as adults."

Mrs. Garnhart chose the teaching profession a little later in life. She credits all the time she's put in as a mom to her success. Mrs. Garnhart states, "I know when kids are pushing the limit or when they don't understand something based on my kids."

In this classroom it's books like Les Misérables that make Mrs. Garnhart happy. Mrs. Garnahrt states, "The literature is my favorite part of English. It's harder to teach grammar especially when they are completly uninterested."