diane knerr

St. Patrick’s Knerr Appreciates Cool Middle Schoolers

By Pauline Hovey
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of 4/12/07)

Even during “off” hours, Diane Knerr, seventh- and eighth-grade math and science teacher at St. Patrick School in Fredericksburg, often can be found in the company of middle school-aged kids. Whether tutoring after school, coaching soccer or meeting with students at the public library on a Saturday, Knerr seems to enjoy having an active role in the development and maturation of 13- to 14-year-olds.
“I just think it’s the coolest age group ever,” said Knerr, who has spent 12 years at St. Patrick’s. Although most adults wouldn’t share her delight in teaching young teens in the midst of confusing and life-changing experiences, Knerr views it otherwise. “I think they’re great people,” she said of her students. “They’re old enough to make a difference, and they’re making important decisions. It gets a little crazy sometimes, but they’re carving out their path in life, and I get to be involved in that to a certain extent. I’m really blessed to be doing this.”
Her attitude obviously contributes to why she doesn’t mind staying after school three to four times a week to tutor students, most of whom are struggling in math. “One thing I can’t stand to see is a kid frustrated in class, so it’s worth it to me,” said Knerr.
In addition to decreasing students’ levels of frustration, she assists budding scientists with their research projects. During the several months in which students prepare for the diocesan Science Fair, Knerr is often seen at the library helping them conduct research, find needed periodicals and enter relative data. To further help her students manage this long-range process, Knerr developed a timeline that breaks down the steps necessary from October to February, “so it doesn’t become overwhelming,” she said.
Students compete with about 300 youths from Catholic schools for the diocesan-wide science fair. “It’s an incredible experience for kids,” said Knerr, who also serves as the diocesan science fair coordinator — a position she found herself accepting after volunteering on the science fair committee “to get a flavor of what’s going on.”
But despite her full-scale involvement with the science fair, Knerr claims math is her first love, a fact she said her own teachers would find hard to believe. “My high school teachers would probably laugh to know that I’m teaching math,” she said, acknowledging it was not one of her favorite subjects. “But at the college level, everything finally made sense. I saw the pieces fit together like a puzzle and saw that it works just like my teachers said it does.”
A 1994 Radford University graduate, Knerr attended Aquinas School in Woodbridge as a youngster and found “I wanted to give back some of what was given to me. I had great teachers with high expectations who weren’t going to expect anything but my best. That stuck with me, and I hope that I’ve touched a kid here and there.”
As Principal George Elliott would attest, that indeed has happened. “The biggest compliment I can give, which is a true testament to how her students feel about her,” he said, “is the fact that many former students now in high school and college come back to St. Patrick during school hours to visit with their all-time favorite teacher.”
But Knerr is quick to add that she is learning from her students as well. “My kids give to me every day. I explain to them that my role is teacher, but I’m learning from them as much as teaching.”