Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a teacher who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a man or woman and a teacher. Above all, the Teacher of the Month is dedicated to his or her students. Rich or poor, famous or not, he or she shines as an example of what teaching is all about.

Our choice for December is Betty Grossman, fifth grade teacher at Wayne Thomas Elementary School in Chicago, Ill.

Several years ago, Betty Grossman would walk her daughters to Wayne Thomas Elementary School in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago. It was less than a two-minute walk from her house to the school's door. She noticed the crossing guard often did not show, so she marched into the school one day to complain to the principal.

Little did she know that would change her life, leading to her becoming the crossing guard for two years and eventually a teacher again. She had previously taught at the high school level before taking on this new adventure at Wayne Thomas to teach fifth grade.

Her daughters are grown now, and she has a 4-year-old grandson, but Grossman still takes that short commute to the school that she says has become such a big part of her life.

A Teacher at Heart
"What first drew me to the school was my kids and the warm and inviting environment that I wanted to be a part of," says Grossman. "It's a pretty good commute and so much of my life has been spent there, so I continue to teach."

Grossman says she never wanted to be anything else but a teacher, since she was in fifth grade herself. She was a student aid in a summer school playground program in her Nebraska hometown, and the first time a little girl held her hand, she thought it was heaven.

Even when her parents offered to put her through law school, she declined. "That was not interesting to me," she says. "I always knew teaching is where the action is and I still think so after 25 years. It is amazingly different everyday."

Grossman says that her favorite part of teaching is that it is an artistic job. She enjoys the way teachers have to weave the conversations and learning together. Her least favorite part of the job is state testing, because she thinks kids are over-tested, at least in her area.

Randy Holzman, an Illinois mother of two boys ages 10 and 15, has known Grossman for the last 12 years. Her younger son has Grossman as a teacher now and her older son had her five years ago. "She has amazing energy for teaching," says Holzman. "It is obvious to those who know her that this is her passion. She is the perfect combination of warmth and caring while having high expectations for her students."

One thing Holzman particularly likes is how Grossman treats all of her students with enormous respect, and she says the kids love that Grossman shares bits and pieces of her life with them.

The G Team
Grossman's class is called "The G Team," and on the first day of school, as a part of the team, the children learn a poem called "A Safe Place," which they recite each morning.

Grossman says she starts the day with this mantra, which is made of four or five sentences to reinforce that school is a safe place where opinions are respected, where there is laughter and where people should be kind and considerate to each other. "We say it out loud together, and I have kids that come back 20 years later and can still say it," she says. "It's a neat way to start the day on a high note."

Following this poem there is applause and handshakes before the tasks of the day begin. The children come to count on this ritual, as it sets the stage for a classroom of acceptance and tolerance.

"Mrs. G. has remarkable rapport with both parents and kids and is a teacher parents request year after year," says Holzman. "She is very direct in her communication with both students and parents, and I appreciate that in a teacher."

Grossman says that when teaching, parents have to be your partners and you have to communicate with them often, bringing them in with a student if needed, calling and sending notes. "Parents have to be convinced that you are the child's advocate for the hours they are in school, that you wish them the best and you are trying to get them to the point where they can attain the best, " she says.

According to Holzman, Grossman has left many impressions on her boys. She remembers a time when her older son was in eighth grade and came home from school with a beautiful paper he had written. She casually asked him how he had done that, and he replied, "It was easy – I had Mrs. Grossman sitting on my shoulder."

Her younger son has spent the last five years hoping for Mrs. G. for fifth grade. When asked what he likes about the teacher now that he has her, he says that she makes everything exciting and is always encouraging students.

For Grossman, she is proud of many things in her teaching career. "I am super proud of a Michael Jordan kind of day," says Grossman. "That's when I feel I've hit every set shot, the kids are excited, enthusiastic and it's been over-the-top learning all day long."

Want to see more?

• Know someone who deserves recognition for being the great teacher that he or she is? Nominate him or her!
• Get Involved – It's Worth It! Building a Strong Relationship With Your Child's School
• Plenty of Z's Can Mean More A's and B's: Children Need a Good Night's Sleep for School Success
• Talking With the Teacher: Making the Most out of Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Talk about it!