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MY FAVORITE TEACHER: A teacher's mission to combat bullying

MY FAVORITE TEACHER targets bullying head-on by teaching how to listen to and respect others.

KEWANEE, Ill. — Each year News 8 receives nominations from students throughout eastern Iowa and western Illinois who want to recognize "My Favorite Teacher." We feature five outstanding educators each year.

Ask most any teacher, their mission is to connect with children.

Whether it's the book that opened their eyes or the math equation they now understand, the art project that unlocked a talent or the project that helped them better understand a concept.

But teachers also connect in personal ways hat will never be forgotten.

And in Kewanee it brought one student back to a classroom that still means so much to her.

"Mrs. Kirsch, you're my favorite teacher," Gracie Yelm said as she entered Bree Kirsch's fifth grade classroom at Central Elementary and Junior High.

"Oh, Gracie. Thank you. Oh, that's so nice," Mrs. Kirsch said.

Gracie wrote News 8 about her favorite teacher and the reasons she should be commended.

"There's so many things that make this teacher an outstanding human being," she wrote. "She's always so caring, kind, and her smile is contagious."

Fifth grade can be a tough time in a student's life. And it can be tougher if students don't fit in with some of their peers.

Teachers and administrators nationwide have instituted new programs to intervene, to make every student count.

RELATED: Students in Illinois will receive 5 mental health days per year starting in 2022

To Mrs. Kirsch, it's just natural.

"I try to take an interest in all of my kids, let them know that I'm here if they want to talk," she said. 

And to Mrs. Kirsch, communicating comes with lessons about expected behavior, respect and an emphasis to stop bullying.

"I don't feel like I'm going above and beyond because that's how I am. I'm always concerned for the kids," she said.

But it's that natural attention to her students that can sometimes be the biggest connection with her kids.

"She always would let me talk with her whenever I needed it. She was always (like), 'Are you okay? Do you need anything? You want to come hang out?'  Anything. She was always there," Gracie said.

Mrs. Kirsch said she loves being there for her fifth graders. Sometimes, that means playing teacher, counsellor, nurse and parent figure. But she wouldn't want it any other way.

"I love it to death," Mrs. Kirsch said. "These kids wake me up every morning and get me going.  And I just … I love their innocence, and I want them to keep it longer." 

Innocence and also an awareness that all these kids are strong enough to be the very best version of themselves.

"It would take me a lifetime to pay her for everything she's done for me," Gracie said. "This teacher has made me who I am today. These are all the reasons Ms. Kirsch is an outstanding teacher and so much more."

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