Name: Rhetta Greene
School: Forestbrook Elementary
Subject(s) taught: Cross-categorical special needs
Age: 39
Hometown: Murrells Inlet
Birthplace: Murrells Inlet
College: Shaw University, master’s from Leslie University
Number of years teaching: 17
Favorite memory: “I had a little boy named Brandon, who was out of control, but had everything going for him. He had a great personality, was very smart, but he was all over the place. But when some [teachers] looked at him they saw nothing. He had [what he needed] but he gave it to you in this unique out-of-the-box kind of way. I smile when I think about him because I know he will be super successful in life”

GrandStrand Magazine: Why did you decide to be a teacher?

Rhetta Greene: “I decided to be special needs teacher because the diagnosis and label special needs can be limiting, and I wanted to be the difference for them, to show them how to be all they can be.”

GSM: What makes a great teacher?

RG: “A great teacher must love children, be flexible and be able to go from one extreme to the other. Children come from all different backgrounds, and a teacher has to be able to bring all those kids to a central point so that everybody can take away something.”

GSM: Are kids different today than kids of 5, 10 or 25 years ago?

RG: “I think so. Children [today] are more open and don’t have that filter when they speak. Kids today are much more blunt and don’t hold back.”

GSM: How about special needs children?

RG: “There’s been a broadening of what qualifies as special needs. It used to be how you looked, but now it’s how you learn. ... Truth be told, we all have special needs, but some of us require more work than others strengthening certain areas. Today we identify emotional needs; kids who need to learn to deal with their anger, for example. If their anger disrupts them academically, then we need to help them. There is more than one way to learn.”

GSM: Do special needs kids ever move to the mainstream classroom with other students?

RG: “Absolutely. Last year we moved three kids out of my class into the mainstream. And first thing next year we want to move two more. That’s our goal.”

GSM: What are the challenges facing teachers in Horry County?

RG: “A challenge for all teachers is to find a way to reach all their children in a limited amount of time. We have so many demands on our time, and so do the kids.”

GSM: Why do many teachers come in for a year or two and quit after all that education, licensing and time invested?

RG: “I think it can happen when you first come in to the teaching profession, there are all these mandates; what to do, how to do it, use this material vs. something you might think is better. … But I always tell new teachers, ‘Brush those shoulders off, do not carry the load with you. Your job is to teach students. One-size-fits-all education doesn’t work.”

GSM: Were you a good student?

RG: “Yes, pretty good. ... I was always told the way to get out of my circumstances—poverty—was through a good education.”

GSM: Did one or more teachers impact you as a student?

RG: “Yes. I remember my science teacher from Waccamaw Middle School. She wrote in my yearbook ‘there are many paths people can take, and yours is the path to success.’ She planted a seed that day. And I believed her.”

GSM: Words of advice to teachers?

RG: “There’s so much power in the spoken word and the impact we as teachers have. When we speak to children we are either building up or destroying, and it’s important to remember that.”

GSM: Words of advice to parents?

RG: “Set high expectations regardless of their own status. Kids have a way of meeting and exceeding our expectations.”

From Forestbrook Elementary Principal Johnny Calder:

“What I love most about her is the love and the care she has for her kids, her great sense of humor, and that she sets the mark very high for these kids. ... When you have a good special education teacher, they’re worth their weight in gold, and that’s the case with her.”