How would you describe your job? I wear a lot of hats. I have to be not only a teacher, I have to be a counselor, almost a surrogate parent, a communicator, a facilitator. I do whatever it takes to help my children learn.

(ENLARGE)

Denise Jewell, age 53 Currituck County Fourth-grade Teacher Currituck County Schools, 29 years (7 in Currituck)

Has your job been affected by changes in technology or other changes? When I started teaching, we had the old purple mimeograph to make copies. Now we're getting our SMART Boards soon. There's digital storytelling (students electronically compose and narrate their own stories). Kids are actually testing on the computer now. These children are

doing PowerPoint presentations.

Besides salary, what benefits do you derive from your work? There is no profession in the world more honorable or more rewarding than to teach a child and make a difference in a child's life. It's rewarding just to find out what they've become when they've graduated college and become young adults.

What are the long-term or indirect benefits of your job? I hope I've done my part in making them want to be lifelong learners. I hope I have helped them gain the skills they need in later years.

How do you see your job benefiting the larger community? Making the children aware of things they can become involved in. I'm a sponsor of an author's club. The children do book reviews. I think it makes them better citizens when they become aware of things they can do.

— Zac Goldstein