ELK GROVE, Calif. — Brandon Amato teaches 3rd grade special education at Joseph Sims Elementary School in Elk Grove. He was nominated because he “always comes into the kids’...class with enthusiasm and motivation...He’s super patient and understanding which makes him an outstanding teacher for such a group of kids” says parent Raquel Valencia. ABC10 asked Brandon a few questions about her career in teaching. This is what he had to say:
How long have you been teaching?
This is my third year.
What subject do you teach?
I teach 3rd grade special education in a program for the acquisition of language and social skills.
Why do teachers matter?
Teachers matter because much of a developing child's life is spent in school. Therefore, teachers are a big part of children's lives and can have a significant impact on how they learn to be in the world.
What do you love about teaching?
I love getting to know the students and seeing what they’re interested in, and then finding ways to use those interests to help them learn. I enjoy the range of unique personalities I get to interact with each day.
What are the challenges of teaching?
Having way too much to do and too little time to do it. And, always having a dozen different things competing for your attention at once.
Who was your favorite teacher growing up?
I don't recall having a favorite teacher. I liked a lot of different teachers for different reasons. The ones that were more demanding, I appreciated after the fact. The fun ones, I enjoyed at the time.
What’s your favorite student success story?
My favorite student success story was seeing the joy on a student’s face when they succeeded at sounding out a word for the first time and realized they knew the word.
What advice do you have for the future teachers of America?
Realize that there is way more to the job than you can imagine. So, don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues for help and advice.
What advice do you have for parents?
Children are watching and learning from you more than you realize. So, always follow through and do what you say you will do.
Congratulations again to ABC10's November 2021 Teacher of the Month, Brandon Amato!
Teacher of the Month/Teacher of the Year is ABC10’s way of honoring exemplary teachers in our community and say ‘thank you’ for their hard work. ABC10 viewers, students, principals, parents, family and friends nominate educators they feel deserve this title. Each month Sac State selects a teacher out of this pool of nominees to be honored as ‘Teacher of the Month’, receiving a $1,000 dollar check from SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, a profile story on ABC10 and ABC10.com, and other prizes! Plus, all nominees are put in the running for Esquire IMAX and ABC10’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ winning an additional $5,000 dollars courtesy of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. The ‘Teacher of the Year’ ceremony is held every spring.