eaching is a balancing act, even after multiple decades of experience.

They have got to balance curriculums, and most importantly they've got to balance the students personal lives with classwork.

Sheryl Sehon, a second grade teacher at Grand Elementary, has more experience in the balancing act than most teachers. She has been teaching in Chickasha longer than any other teacher in the district. She has been here so long that she now teaches the children of some of her previous students. With all of her experience, her balancing act is the best in town.

Even after 36 years she is not tired of teaching children.

"She never stops," Third Grade Teacher Krista Cochran said. "She's still amazing. She just gets better in time."

She has seen many changes in students throughout the years, as well as changes in curriculum.

"I think we expect a lot out of them," Sehon said. "They have a lot to deal with. A long time ago it seemed like you'd have fewer kids where you wondered about their home life."

She sees her work as an art form, and is constantly trying to balance her compassion for the kids and molding them into responsible young people. She enjoys teaching the second grade because the students are moldable and for the most part enjoy being there.

"They're still very sweet. You never know what they're going to say," Sehon said. "But, it's a good reinforcement age."

Sehon is not an enforcer. She is an encourager. She has even been a big influence on Cochran. Cochran was a student of Sehon's in the early 1990s. After getting her education degree from USAO, the Chickasha native returned to her elementary school as a teacher. Once again Sehon was looking over her shoulder, guiding her and teaching her to be a better teacher.

"Mrs. Sehon was my very favorite teacher out of all the teachers I had," Cochran said. "You want to be like her. If I'm one-quarter of what she is I'll be a pretty good teacher."

Cochran is in her second year teaching and has much to learn, but she is learning from the best. USAO has the best education program in the state, and Sehon ensures that Cochran is progressing.

"She's just always helping, which is nice," she said. "We just are constantly comparing notes."

Cochran taught first grade last year, and Sehon now has a few of her students.

After 36 years Sehon is not ready to retire. Even is she were ready she wouldn't be able to.

"We won't let her leave," Grand Elementary Principal Kathy Wenzel said.

If Sehon does retire in the near future she wants it to be a partial one. She said she has an idea that would greatly help the district. She sees a need for a teacher of teachers. With her years of experience she feels that she could mentor new teachers on a part-time basis. This would increase her effect on students, while decreasing her time at school.

"Now if we could just get the superintendent to go with her plan," Wenzel said while pondering the possibilities.