Mauna Eller was an eager 22-year-old in 1976 when she first walked into her Twin Falls classroom.

Fifty years later, she’s still eager and still walking into that same Morningside Elementary classroom, teaching the next generation of first graders how to read.

It’s simple. She likes school, she likes teaching and she likes kids. “I like to make it fun,” she said.

Eller, 71, holds the Idaho record for longest active teaching certificate, according to certification data.

Another key to Eller’s continued love of her job has been her own love of learning.

“You always want to continue learning yourself so that you can better help the kids,” Eller said. “You’re never done with school, basically.”

Eller’s drive to keep learning is centered around doing what’s best for kids, Moningside principal Jennifer Stokesberry said.

“She’s a team player,” Stokesberry said. “If it’s best for kids, she’s going to do it.”

When she started teaching, there were no computers, internet or common use of email. She taught from books and on a chalkboard.

“Really, when you started, you kind of were on your own,” Eller recalls. “A lot of times, we didn’t know what we were supposed to do until we were supposed to have done it.”

Today, Eller’s students use artificial intelligence to take tests.

Over the years, Eller has mentored her fellow teachers and leaned on instructional coaches for support. The team at Morningside helps her, especially with technology, she said.

With each round of new tech Eller looks for the “why,” so not to be fooled by new gimmicks, Stokesberry said.

“She’s not shy about saying, ‘I think this is not going to work,'” Stokesberry said.

But once there’s a clear route to helping kids learn, Eller jumps on board and isn’t afraid to ask her younger colleagues for help, Stokesberry added.

Still, she prefers to see her students with a book in their hands.

Her love of phonics has remained constant through the years of improvements and growth to reading curriculums that now focus more on comprehension and writing.

“It has been very helpful,” she said.

There are books from Eller’s first years as a teacher she still reaches for, Stokesberry said, in combination with cutting-edge technology and tactics.

“The one thing that I absolutely love about her when I go into her classroom is her toolbox is deep,” Stokesberry said.

Eller’s favorite teaching moments are seeing a student struggle to read, until suddenly, something clicks.

“They all of a sudden figured it out, and it’s like the whole world unlocks,” Eller said.

Eller said she has seen first graders change over the years.  They are less likely to share than they used to be and to do their own thing, she said. Eller finds herself teaching kids how to work through emotions and communicate clearly, something she partially attributes to how often they are on devices.

Eller has lived through decades of history, something her students can’t comprehend. She told them she watched the first moon landing on TV, during a recent unit on the moon and astronomy.

“They can’t imagine that,” Eller said with a chuckle.

One thing that has never wavered, first graders are hilariously honest.

When Eller’s mother was still alive, she used to come in and read to Eller’s students.

“One kid said, ‘You’re old, but she’s really old,'” she recalls.

Eller isn’t alone in continuing to teach; her husband, Rocky Eller, is a lifelong teacher and athletic director at Twin Falls’ O’Leary Middle School.

Eller has a granddaughter in kindergarten at Morningside, and it’s likely she will be teaching her next year.

And Eller has no plans to retire.

“It’s rewarding,” Eller said.

Idaho EdNews’ series Teacher Feature highlights the diversity, expertise, and ingenuity of educators across the state. Submit your suggestions for a teacher to feature to Emma Epperly at emma@idahoednews.org.