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9Teachers Who Care: Mr. Arnold is anything but dull

Johnny Arnold is that teacher who kids always remember. He sings, dances, tells jokes and gives students nicknames.
Mr. Arnold teaching his class

LITTLETON - Johnny Arnold is that teacher who kids always remember. He sings, dances, tells jokes and gives students nicknames to get their attention and he keeps their attention. That says a lot, since he teaches kindergarten.

"There is never a dull moment," Mr. Arnold said. "They come in and want to tell you about everything."

Mr. Arnold is fun, but he is also direct and engaging, encouraging participation from each and every child in his class at Mount Carbon Elementary School in Littleton.

A couple of times each hour, Mr. Arnold will tell the children to be "learners and leaders."

"I try to ingrain it in them over and over again," Mr. Arnold

"This is a man who truly has a gift and is using his talent in a beautiful way to encourage learners," parent Kimberly Sandman said.

Sandman is one of the parents who nominated Mr. Arnold for the 9Teachers Who Care Award. Her daughter spent two years in Mr. Arnold's classroom, during which time he helped her push past some of her challenges in learning.

"Mr. Arnold has done all of this by using many different teaching styles and is constantly trying new ways to engage her while still meeting the needs of all the others in his classroom," Sandman said.

"Mr. Arnold gets children started on their educational careers by fostering a belief in their own ability to succeed, first and foremost," parent Becca Laughlin added.

Mr. Arnold refers to his classroom as the trunk of a tree. He says a strong base in kindergarten allows for the successful growth of a student.

"We work on self regulating and self direction," Mr. Arnold said. "I want to make sure they're directing themselves into behavior that makes them leaders and learners."

It takes most of the school year to get to that point.

"The beginning of the year, it's like the whack-a-mole game. You're running around like crazy," Mr. Arnold said. "By the end of the year, the students have developed so much and they know the patterns of school. They're looking forward to learning. They want a challenge."

Kindergarteners also want to have fun.

"Stand on up, and let's get some funky on," Mr. Arnold said as he transitioned from a math lesson to a writing exercise.

"If you can make it fun and make it important to them, you get them hooked," Mr. Arnold said.

Five- and 6-year-olds also want to feel loved. That's one of the reasons he greats the students outside the school before the start of school each day.

"I like to meet them at the door right away because - after 20 years of doing this - you can kind of tell what's going to happen that day," Mr. Arnold said. "You can tell this one needs a little loving. This one needs a little 'Hey, think about what you're doing. Make some smart choices. Be a learner and a leader.'"

At the end of each school year, Mr. Arnold is confident that his students are academically ready for first grade.

This spring, the first kindergarten class he taught at Mount Carbon Elementary School is getting ready to graduate and move on to middle school (his daughter is in that class).

"I want them to walk away with happiness and joy," Mr. Arnold said. "I also want them to look back and think 'he was kinda goofy, but I liked him.'"

Mr. Arnold remembers his kindergarten teacher well. She has even subbed for his class in the past. His mother and wife are also educators.

"You can't do this job by yourself. You can't," Mr. Arnold said. "You have to have the support of the people around you. If you have that support, it makes it so easy."

If you know a teacher like Mr. Arnold who is making a profound impact on children, visit this page to nominate them: http://on9news.tv/1HJ9ZhI.

(KUSA-TV © 2015 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

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