El Dorado teacher strives to instill love of learning in his students

Two weeks before school even started, El Dorado Elementary fifth-grade teacher Charlie Sokoloff was jazzing up his classroom. He painted the originally beige walls lavender, brought in a colorful couch and lined the walls with educational decorations.

Sokoloff’s room has slowly but surely filled up with teaching tools, such as globes, and accessories, such as houseplants, to give the room the feel of both a classroom and a comfortable living room.

Maybe it’s the comfortable atmosphere that makes Sokoloff want to stay at work for 10-12 hours a day. He usually arrives in his classroom before 7 a.m. and leaves no earlier than 5 p.m.

Sokoloff loves his job, he said. He’s tried other things in the past but teaching is the only thing that fit. The Chicago native tried a bout at the University of Illinois law school but soon found out law wasn’t for him.

“I was pretty successful,” Sokoloff said about his time in law school. “But I knew I wasn’t going to cut it as a lawyer — I didn’t have the temperament. I always wanted to be a teacher, and I don’t know why I got on the track of law.”

Sokoloff said that while he was always very competitive in his academics, he was much more mellow than his law-school classmates.

“I’d rather advocate for kids in a more positive way,” Sokoloff said.

When he came to Santa Fe three years ago, he decided to give teaching a whirl. He got his certification from Santa Fe Community College and then started teaching Hebrew school at Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe, where he still works on Wednesday evenings. He began teaching at Sweeney Elementary befrore working at El Dorado Elementary.

Sokoloff holds his bachelor’s degree in literature from the University of Illinois, so while he likes teaching all the subjects, he especially enjoys when the students are reading and writing.

“I like teaching writing because that’s a skill that has been on the downturn and been depleted out of the school system so much and de-emphasized,” Sokoloff said. “Writing gives way to test-taking and that’s why I like teaching writing.”

Sokoloff said he enjoys teaching things that some might consider “boring,” like grammar.

“I’m sort of a nerd like that,” Sokoloff said. “I love teaching grammar and spelling.”

Sokoloff’s goals for the year are to get all of his students to fifth-grade proficiency levels.

As with most teachers, Sokoloff is dedicated to his job because of his students.

“I always look forward to the kids in the morning,” Sokoloff said about his favorite aspect of teaching. “I love instilling them with knowledge and responsibility with their morals and ethics but what I love most about teaching is getting the energy from them and feeling alive because they’re so energetic and enthusiastic.”

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.