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Just about everyone has been through kindergarten and you either had a really strict teacher or a really fun teacher. If you didn’t have the fun teacher, you wished you had the fun teacher. However, here at Bellwood-Antis we are lucky enough that all of our teachers are kind and truly do care about their students.

One kindergarten teacher in particular stands out above the rest when it comes to making learning an amazing journey! Mr. Matthew Germino has been teaching at Bellwood-Antis for two years and taught for four years of Pre-Kindergarten at Begin With Us Child Development Center. He got his Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Penn State University and his Early Childhood Education Certification from Edinboro University.

For Mr. Germino, teaching wasn’t just something he did because of June, July, and August. He became a teacher because he grew up having a mother as a teacher and a father who dedicated a lot of time towards youth athletics, so he grew up seeing the joy that comes from helping kids grow and learn.

Mr. Germino continues to teach because he enjoys the thrill of seeing a student learn a new concept that they may have never believed they could learn before. Its teachers like these that reassure us that the future of America is in good hands.

“I believe my job as an educator is not to only help each and every student succeed in their own way, but it’s also to teach them how to accept failure and fight through adversity on their way to becoming successful,” stated Germino.

To Mr. Germino, who is from Tyrone, the Bellwood-Antis community is nothing short of amazing with how it supports all of the students. He could never have asked for a better group of teachers to work with, both personally and professionally. The parents have also been extremely welcoming and supportive in his time here.

There are many things that Mr. Germino enjoys about his job at BA. However, his favorite part of his job is the people he gets to work with every day. He says they have treated him like family since his first day at Bellwood-Antis.

As a teacher you help students learn on their journey to becoming successful in life. To make the journey worthwhile you have to somehow make learning appear fun. Mr. Germino makes learning fun by showing a genuine interest in his students. The students feed off enthusiasm, especially in kindergarten.

You wouldn’t think it would take much to keep hold the attention span of a five or six year old but Mr. Germino said it can be difficult at times.

“Some days all it takes is a song or an interesting topic. Other days you feel like you’ve tried every gimmick possible to no avail. It’s what makes Kindergarten the toughest grade to teach, in my opinion. If you can’t adapt minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, then they will expose you,” he said.