Cindi Rigsbee 
Finding Mrs. Warnecke [PDF ebook] 
The Difference Teachers Make

Finding Mrs. Warnecke tells the inspiring story of Cindi
Rigsbee, a three-time Teacher of the Year, and Barbara Warnecke,
the first-grade teacher who had a profound and lasting impact on
Cindi’s life. Cindi, an insecure child who craved positive
attention, started her first-grade year with a teacher who was
emotionally abusive and played favorites in the classroom. Two
months into the school year, her principal came into the classroom
and announced that half the students were being moved to another
classroom–a dank, windowless basement room, with a young and
inexperienced teacher. This change turned out to be the best thing
that ever happened to Cindi. Her new teacher, Mrs. Warnecke, made
learning come alive for her students. She went overboard caring for
each child, made her classroom ‘magical, ‘ and encouraged students
to pursue their dreams. Although Cindi was reluctant to explore her
creativity as a student, Mrs. Warnecke encouraged her to read and
write poetry, which became a lifelong passion. The two kept in
touch for several years but lost track of each other when Mrs.
Warnecke moved out of state. Cindi spent many years trying to
reconnect so she could thank Mrs. Warnecke for making such a
difference in her life, but to no avail. Eventually Cindi became a
teacher herself, and thirty years later she has taught more than
2, 000 children and been named Teacher of the Year for her home
state. She later came to realize that all those years she wasn’t
really trying to track down Barbara Warnecke, but rather, she was
trying to ‘find Mrs. Warnecke’ within herself.
In Fall 2008 Cindi and Barbara were reunited on Good Morning
America; the show’s producers had tracked Barbara down and
brought both women on-set for a tearful reunion. Barbara was
floored at this attention–she had no idea she could have made such
an impact on a former student’s life. As Cindi travels around
talking with new and veteran educators, she is always approached by
audience members who are moved to tears and want to share the story
of the ‘Mrs. Warnecke’ in their own lives. Finding Mrs.
Warnecke not only tells the story of this teacher who made a
lifelong impact on her students, it illustrates the importance of
the teacher/student relationship in the classroom, and offers
principles for other teachers to follow to make a positive impact
in their own classrooms.

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