As part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the National Teacher of the Year Program each National Teacher was asked to submit a letter "for the future." The experiences of National Teachers in and out of the classroom have given them a unique perspective on the education of our children, a perspective from which much can be learned.
The Teachers were given the option of writing to:
An elementary or secondary student whom they know would make a wonderful teacher; a newly trained teacher getting ready to begin their classroom career; or a teaching colleague who, although an effective teacher, has "given up" on education and is considering leaving the profession.
What follows is a sampling of those letters. A touching and joyful tribute to the future educators of our nation's children.
Listen to the voices.........
Geraldine Jones
1952 National Teacher of the Year
May 2000
Dear Karen,
I am looking forward to attending your wedding this summer and wish you every happiness. And while I am very happy for you and your new life, I hope you reconsider and apply for a leave of absence from teaching rather than terminating your contract with the school district.
You have so much to offer...Unquestionably, your program has helped to make the ordinary, extraordinary, and learning fun and exciting. You truly exemplify the best of the teaching profession -- a creative teacher truly committed to quality, diversity and enrichment. You have a wonderful rapport with others and are a natural leader. And after sacrificing so much to become a teacher, what a waste it would be to not return to teaching.
Although it has been ten years since I retired, the time we worked together remains a treasured memory. You were wonderful as a parent volunteer when your two children were in kindergarten, and then as our classroom aide for ten years before returning to graduate school to obtain your teaching credential. Now you are the dedicated kindergarten teacher in your room and I hope you will consider returning to a position where you excel.
I know you will bring the same magic to your marriage that you have had as a teacher. Hopefully the joy of teaching can lure you back to the classroom, while you pursue a fulfilling life with your husband.
May the future be all you desire and so richly deserve.
Love, Gerry
Willard C. Widerberg
1954 National Teacher of the Year
April 3, 2000
Dear Michael,
I realize that you don't know me. But my daughter, Dawn Sauer, has observed you over the years and according to her, you have all the qualities of an excellent teacher. She has followed your progress through Kaneland Schools and at Aurora College. As a senior, you are well prepared to meet the challenge of the teaching profession. The country and students need your help.
Students' educational needs in the future are unknown. Michael, to your care and guidance will be committed thousands of children who very soon will have to bear a responsibility, the crucial significance of which they have no idea at the present time. Remember, you will be the custodian of the most valuable asset in life--the individual development of the human mind. Our way of life depends upon the quality of students. Along with your students, Michael, you will be required to maintain an open mind to constant change, adaptations and educational innovations. There must be a willingness to teach the students at individual levels and from there, to lead them to greater challenges.
As a teacher, I had the most rewarding experiences that I shall always treasure. What satisfaction you will realize over the years! Henry Adams once observed, "A teacher affects eternity, he can never tell where his influence stops." I cannot begin to express how content and happy that I am because I know I made a difference in many students' lives.
Today the teaching profession is gaining respect, honor and rewards. Never before have the national, state and local governments wanted to increase budgets to focus on education. You can benefit from this action. So I urge you to seriously consider this opportunity. Go for it Michael! You won't regret it.
Sincerely, Willard C. Widerberg
Margaret Perry Teufel
1955 National Teacher of the Year
April 8, 2000
Dear Megan,
I am compelled to write you as you consider your future. I know that you have chosen to be an actress, and pursue all facets of activities to accomplish your goal. I often recall the exciting days that I spent as your "Grandparent for a day" when Moonberry School celebrated Grandparents' Day. I think about you because you were always so careful to introduce me to all of your friends and to explain why each was so special (that was everybody in the classroom). This one could do arithmetic, and this one could write the best stories, etc.
Of course, I have always hoped that some day, you would consider teaching. I would recommend elementary grades, but perhaps you would find that your heart would take you to other levels. You would be "on stage" every day as a teacher. There is no satisfaction in the world that can compare with seeing the light of understanding in a child's eyes.
Several years ago you convinced me that you believe in each individual. As teachers we use our initiative, our teaching skills, our spiritual and moral values, our creative abilities, our intellect and everything that we can muster to develop each child to his potential. Children are different, Megan, and each deserves your very best. You will have exhausting days, but you will feel so good!
In addition to being a very rewarding profession, there is currently a very real need for an adequate corps of qualified teachers at every level. At a recent education fair in Portland, personnel directors from many school districts were there looking for top flight teachers. Megan, reconsider--I think it would be a wise choice for you. I believe that you would be a natural.
Love, Margaret
Mary Field Schwarz Arehart
1957 National Teacher of the Year
April 14, 2000
Dear Teacher:
Congratulations! You are newly-trained and starting your teaching career. Welcome to one of the most challenging, gratifying professions. Much will be expected of you because of the changes taking place in our society.
The Census reminds us that many problems are the result of the world's enormous population growth and the inequity of critical natural resources. In our own country people are swarming in from many countries, speaking diverse languages, and needing jobs, housing, medical care and acceptance. More foreign language teachers, architects, and doctors are needed.
The rapid loss of green space and the critical lack of fresh water create the need for ecologists, scientists, and researchers, and this need must be stressed in the entire school curriculum.
The burgeoning of technology in communications will necessitate a change in the entire curriculum, and teachers must be trained to use computers and computers are needed in every classroom.
We cannot always predict the catastrophes caused by Nature, but we know that biologists, meteorologists, geologists, astronauts, and oceanographers are constantly alert to such disasters.
Because people are living longer, medical researchers are trying to find the cause of debilitating diseases, and doctors, nurses, and psychologists are essential.
In order to prepare our youth for such demanding careers, there is a need to identify the brightest children in the early grades, and they need to be nurtured and challenged by excellent teachers. Far from being elitists, such children are the most altruistic of all.
Teachers must be aware of these societal needs and try to address them. Perhaps different heroes are needed. There may be a decline in sports heroes, and more regard for writers, poets, ambassadors, mediators, musicians, artists, social scientists, care givers, and certainly, teachers. I predict higher salaries and far more prestige for teachers in the future.
So you can see, dear young teacher, what a challenging career you are entering, how necessary it will be for you to continue taking courses and improving your skills. But the effects of good teaching are so rewarding! Teaching is among the most gratifying of professions. You will touch a lot of lives, and you will never know the extent of your influence.
Best wishes in your teaching career!
Sincerely, Mary
Jean Listebarger Humphrey
1958 National Teacher of the Year
April 17, 2000
Dear Jeanette,
My congratulations to you as you graduate from the University of Wisconsin next month. I am pleased and proud that you have chosen to be a teacher--as did your grandmother, your aunt, and your sister before you. You have spent five long years learning the many basics of teaching. So now, as your aunt, I want to share with you some of my feelings about the teaching profession.
Children certainly need to acquire good math skills. Learning to read well should always be a high priority. Science facts and concepts are extremely necessary. Children need to learn about our world and about environmental concerns. However, I feel that helping children reach their highest potential involves more than learning to read and write, calculating math problems and understanding the world and its environment.
You must also help your students grow in their awareness of others and in their sensitivity to others' needs. You must help your pupils develop a sense of respect and concern for the individuality of others. You must help them gain skills in working co-operatively with each other--an opportunity to educate effectively for peace in our world. Always remember that you have the unique opportunity to help your students develop into more mature and concerned adults.
I can hear you asking, "But how about the children with emotional problems or a difficult home situation? How can they be sensitive to others' needs? How can they learn to work co-operatively with others?" First, I feel that you need to consider what this special individual might become. I believe that all children need encouragement and acceptance and love. Troubled children have these same needs; they just require them in larger proportions. For me, one of the greatest satisfactions of teaching was to watch a child with emotional problems respond to the warmth of love. I truly believe that a teacher's love can transform a classroom. A little love--a little caring-- a little guidance--can help change a child. What a challenge! What a responsibility!
Sometimes it is difficult to realize how much influence we actually have in our day-to-day contacts with children. I remember well one day when I was on recess duty. I looked up into the beauty of a deep blue sky. Suddenly the children and I noticed the gradual creation of a stream of billowy white. As we stood on the ground and admired the jet pilot's masterpiece, I suddenly realized that the pilot himself was not able to observe the "influence" that he was leaving behind as he piloted his plane to his destination. This helped me understand that often we are living too close to our pupils to actually observe the influence that we are creating.
May you find joy and satisfaction in looking beyond the basics in teaching. I know that you are caring, sensitive and perceptive. You are very well-educated as a teacher. I know you are going to be amazed at how much enjoyment you will find in the teaching profession.
Love, Aunt Jean
Helen Adams
1961 National Teacher of the Year
April 7, 2000
Dear Jan,
I can hardly believe that you have only one more year of high school left to complete your studies and requirements for graduation. This is a great achievement for every senior student. I understand that you are undecided as to what you want to do and where to go to receive a good education. You are not alone with these feelings and many others face this same situation. I did not have this problem. I knew as early as First Grade that I wanted to be a teacher just like the one who was my first teacher. This desire never left me, but each year became stronger. I dearly loved learning, the classroom atmosphere, and the teacher who made learning exciting and meaningful.
I know that Teaching is a great profession and I encourage High School graduates who find children exciting and are concerned about their welfare to enroll in "Teacher Education". It is a great honor and privilege to be a teacher, so Jan, I hope you will consider teaching when making decisions.
The "Teacher Education" program opens avenues to other interesting jobs such as, school principals, elementary, Junior and Senior High to Superintendent of Schools. Specialists in the different areas of education with proper training which include:
- Early Childhood Teacher
- Speech
- Emotional Disturbed
- Gifted and Talented
- Reading Specialists
- Foreign Languages
- Special Education
Coaches for girls and boys in athletics of all sorts.
Teachers have opportunities to attend conventions to hear good speakers and participate in the programs offered. Meeting teachers from throughout the state and exchanging ideas is very important. I've enjoyed the Regional and State Conventions held each year.
Teachers have the opportunity to move up in the salary schedule through night classes and summer school courses without disturbing teaching obligations. They can, also, have a couple of months vacation during the summer which in many jobs this is not the case. Again I will repeat it is my duty and obligation as a long-time member of the field of Education to encourage High School youth to join the ranks in helping future students by looking into "Teacher Education" as a top priority. There will be a teacher shortage in some areas and we want to help avoid this possible situation.
Jan, I hope that you will seriously consider some phase of Teaching in your future plans. You would do a terrific job!! We need you to help ensure that our Nation's teachers continue to meet our student's needs into the future.
My personal experience of teaching "Early Childhood Education" for almost 54 years has been a delightful and most rewarding adventure of my life. I would not exchange these years for any other job--to me there is "None that could match it."
Loving thoughts & best wishes,
Helen "Missy" Adams
Barbara Goleman
1969 National Teacher of the Year
Dear Albert,
After observing you in one of your first classes at the onset of your teaching career, I found myself recalling the first weeks of my teaching. How terrified I was. What an impostor. Had I made a dreadful mistake? Who were these teenagers before me? Would I ever learn to care about them?
And then I remembered a face: Arden D. And another: Carolyn C. And Scott and Nelson and Mary and Mercedes. And I remembered Paula, who so wanted to become a physical education teacher, but who had great difficulty passing the required entrance exam. I shared her heartache. How could I remember young people from forty years ago? I can still see their faces, recall their writings, remember their intellectual struggles and conquests, cherish the letters they sent after graduation. Those first years constituted a kind of crucible for me. I had no idea who I was; many of my beliefs were imitations of those of people I respected. I certainly didn't know what it was to teach. All I knew about good teachers was that one of my college professors once wrote me a note telling me that I had a good mind, and that I was growing intellectually. (I still have that note, and she remained an inspiring role model for me.)
My teaching career became my growing up process. Through my students - over all those years - I learned what I know about unselfish love, about laughter, about sharing, about questioning, about honest, no-nonsense study. I became a scholar. I became a lover. I had to learn to balance my personal life and my school life. I learned to forgive my students for their transgressions, to forgive myself for my own shortcomings. I had to learn to detach - with love and patience. I learned the joy of losing oneself in the magic of the classroom encounter.
A few weeks ago I received a letter from a very successful photographer in Atlanta. In the letter he enclosed a progress report I had given him twenty years ago. He thanked me for being the only person who recognized his potential. That moment in English class, he said, helped offset what was an otherwise miserable experience in high school and a motivation subconsciously driving him throughout his life. That letter, and others throughout the years, meant more to me that any monetary award, more than any official title or honor.
I guess all of this is my way of telling you that I honor your selection of a career. In my heart I believe it is the right choice, for I saw your eyes when they met those of an inquiring student. I heard your laughter. I saw the intelligence and effort in those lesson plans. I witnessed the spontaneity and joy of your exchange with your students.
You have made a very serious commitment, as I'm sure you know. You probably will never make huge sums of money. But I guarantee you that the rewards will reach a part of you that dollars cannot reach. And when you retire (as I have done), you will have enough to live comfortably. You will have memories that won't stop. Your mind will have been challenged; your values will have been forged into potent tools; you will feel a kind of satisfaction that you did your bit for your world: you showed up - in a most meaningful way.
I remember that John Kennedy once quoted Aristotle's definition of happiness. I hope I don't mutilate it as I try to recall it: Happiness is "the exercise of vital powers along lines of excellence in a life affording them scope." This three-pronged platform (powers, excellence, scope) is a magic formula, I believe, for a fulfilling, sometimes difficult, always challenging, and modestly glorious career. I believe you have the talent, the personal charisma, the intelligence, and the vision to pursue such a life-altering vocation.
I celebrate your choice.
With my warmest regards and respect,
Barbara Goleman
Johnnie T. Dennis
1970 National Teacher of the Year
Dear Deanna Pawlowski,
This is a letter intended to remind you of some of the sacrifices you and your husband made so that you could become a classroom teacher. Also, I want to use this opportunity to encourage you to continue your work in a profession that proved to give me forty years of satisfying challenges. Often in our profession we become acquainted with individuals who have that spark that we know can mature into a productive classroom teacher. I want you to know that you made such an impression on me as one of my physics students.
During your early years of marriage, you worked nights and summers completing your Master's Program at the University of Washington. The extra knowledge gained from that program helped you become an exemplary classroom teacher. It was my good fortune to have observed your classroom while you were pregnant with your first child. The fourth grade children loved you and it was obvious that you loved them. I know that it was difficult for you to decide to leave the children you had grown to love so much. But it was wise for you to devote the next eight years to having two children and remaining at home until they were old enough to go to school. You are a wholesome example of one perpetuating the value of family an ideal that many classroom teachers find to be so valuable to the success of their students.
It was gratifying to learn that you returned to the classroom to work with special needs children. These children are important people. I think that you will agree that all of our children in all classrooms have special needs. It takes a distinct level of commitment to serve the needs of the children today whether they are in your special needs class or in my physics or calculus class. We have experienced some dismal failures as well as having realized many beautiful successes in our efforts to educate these children. Unfortunately, we are aware that the teaching profession will not make us rich economically. However, there are rewards for our efforts. You may have to wait for years to identify a success. For example, a former student from a class I taught thirty years ago called me recently. He thanked me for encouraging him to develop his talents and for disciplining him to behave appropriately so that he could be a productive member of the class. He was calling from Johns Hopkins where he is studying to be a doctor. You must recall the successes when things are not going very well. Remind yourself often of the delight you experienced when you saw the look on the face of a student when he or she discovered an idea or understood something for the very first time!
Continuing with your career as a classroom teacher will not be easy but I must emphasize how much we need responsible competent teachers like you in our classrooms. Sacrificing time with your family during the summer must be part of your plan in order to maintain certification by continuing with the required education. I remember that I had little time with my young family when I taught part time at Desales High School while I completed my senior year at Whitman College. Fortunately I had a caring calculus professor who knew that I was a Korean Veteran attending college on the GI Bill and needed work whenever I could find it. He recommended me for the job and I was hired to teach a class of trigonometry and a physics class.
There are some surprising advantages that become available to the classroom teacher that makes the hard times bearable. For example, I was able to take my family with me one summer to the University of Mississippi when I completed work on a master's degree. My family was with me three summers at Berkeley where I participated in research involving the Synchrocyclotron, the Bevatron and programs at the Lawrence Hall of Science. The National Science Foundation (NSF) made all of these programs possible. Classroom teachers were able to identify individual content weaknesses and apply for grants through the NSF to improve their backgrounds through summer study at these institutes. These programs were very helpful to many teachers of science and/or mathematics who immediately brought information from the summer institutes to share with their students in the classroom. Similar programs should be available today for those teachers needing to upgrade their education in areas they teach. It pleases me to know that you are enjoying special training during your summers to help you to be more effective in your work. Think of the students and continue in a career that needs you!
Love, Your father
Johnnie T. Dennis
John A. Ensworth
1973 National Teacher of the Year
Dear New Teacher:
Your primary concern as an elementary teacher is to provide a classroom atmosphere which contains as many areas of interest as possible to stimulate a desire to learn. Each child must first become aware of and begin to value his worth as an individual to enable him to base his goals and yours on his own abilities.
Every student needs to feel successful in some way if learning is to continue. By attempting to provide your students with an abundance of decision-making opportunities, they are able to grow in their ability to think about and weigh ideas. Hopefully, one of our major goals can be nurtured and developed. The bringing about of a mutual respect between student and teacher creates an atmosphere of cooperation.
Education is not a one way exchange of ideas, therefore, as a teacher you must be a sounding board to EACH child's ideas, interests, and problems no matter how minor they may seem to you as an adult.
Since education is such a vital part of living in a child's life, we must guide them to become aware of their surroundings as well as the material found in books, new technology, the classroom, and their home. Our communities are rich with natural resources and people which must be utilized to make learning alive.
One of the most neglected talents which every child possesses is creativity. This must be developed through opportunities of self-expression, whether it be through writing, the arts, or oral expression.
A good sense of humor is absolutely necessary if you want to survive in today's classroom. Children are not machines which can be set and programmed to logical or definite outcomes. The capability to laugh at oneself, as well as with others, makes an often improbable conclusion palatable.
Recognize that all kids have minds. If you treat them like they haven't they'll react that way.
Show your student love and affection. Then they will feel it. Anger on occasion is justified. Encourage children to show honest emotions.
Share time outside the classroom with your students on a one-to-one basis or in small groups. Discuss things of interest or problems that they feel a need to talk about. This can happen before school, at noon, after school, or during outside activities. Have a rich environment in the classroom. This could include aquariums, terrariums, incubator, a puppet stage, computers, etc.
A short story will illustrate my point. It all started with the death of a banty hen on my forty acre ranch. I brought the dead hen to the fifth grade classroom where we removed the skin and feathers and cooked the chicken until the meat fell off the bones. Several students who where interested reconstructed the skeleton. One of the students was Karen Gunson. She was just named Oregon's first female State Medical Examiner. In the state-wide article "Bend Doctor Owes Much to Grade School Teacher" (Monday, September 27, 1999, Bend Bulletin): "But a small portion of the credit for her success goes to the teachers she studied with along the way, in particular Mr. Ensworth whose talent made her fifth grade year so pivotal in her life."
It's important to share classroom activities and projects with other classes, particularly with lower grades. This leads to older students becoming mentors of the young. Make learning fun and interesting, but also teach them that learning-- doing anything well-- is plain hard work.
Glen Burleigh, a former student, and I were fishing one day. He started talking about the time he spent in my classroom. Glen said, "Mr. Ensworth, the one thing I remember about our class was that you were having as much fun as we were."
Living in a small town in Bend, Oregon, and teaching about thirty years in the same school and classroom has given me a rare insight to one of the greatest rewards in teaching. Most of my students grew up here and either went on to college or took up a career. Over the years I have received countless phone calls, letters, personal get-togethers, all thanking me for making a difference in their lives. There is no greater reward than this. You can make a difference in the world.
Our class moto was as follows: "Do your best even if it falls short of what the experts think is excellent. The forest would be far too quiet if only the most beautiful birds sang."
Jack Ensworth
Robert G. Heyer
1975 National Teacher of the Year
5 April 2000
To you who are about to enter the teaching profession:
Teaching has been called the most noble of the professions for it provides the framework for all others. Teaching offers a life of tremendous excitement, one which is filled with diverse challenges and responsibilities. Students, parents, politicians, businessmen and all of society have their opinions of what a teacher should be and what they should be doing. Although a teacher should be sensitive to these views and consider them carefully, it is paramount that teachers should develop a strong personal philosophy which fully utilizes their personality and talents and that will be the framework from which to operate. In developing this philosophy you must be aware of the impact teaching has on the lives of students and thus ultimately on society itself. This philosophy will constantly undergo changes as you proceed with your career and are enriched by your experiences.
The teacher's highest priority is that of responsibility for all of the students that daily enter the classroom. Although the presentation of subject matter and the development of knowledge and skills in that subject are vitally important, good teaching involves much more. The classroom must be filled with concern for individual worth, individual rights and individual responsibility and nurturing with warmth, humor and enthusiasm. The teacher must also play a role in helping all students develop self discipline, confidence, honesty, reliability, and humbleness in the classroom and in life outside the classroom.
In recent years much as been said about failure in schools. Since it is extremely difficult even for adults to keep working when there is no accompanying success, the classroom must be structured to provide some academic success for every student. However, failure is part of the real world and everyone must learn how to react to and cope with failures when they come. A good classroom teacher structures the work so that each student is expected to grow educationally by striving to reach goals that challenge them but are within reach. The goals therefore will be different for individual students because abilities vary. Success and failure are part of learning if growth is to be achieved.
The teacher has a vital role to play in public relations. It is important to develop positive relationships with the parents both for the effective teaching of their children and for education in general. Parents have deep concerns for their children's future and rightfully so, but too often we forget that they are also our employers. If we do not take every opportunity to sell the value of our profession to them and other members of the community, we can not expect to get their support for finances and other vital things for education.
The career you are beginning is filled with an unending list of challenges and in finding the solutions you will grow daily and throughout your career. The days and years will fly by and you will be rewarded by the rich relationships you will have with students, parents and colleagues that will truly make your life richly fulfilled. You can make a difference!
Yours truly,
Bob
Myrra Lee
1977 National Teacher of the Year
Dear Brave and Idealistic Soul --
You have made the decision to hold the future in your hands as you are entering into a profession which can be the most exciting and validating of all professions. Very few people are given the opportunity to watch people grow and develop and know that they have played an important part in that process. However, it is also a profession, which can be infuriating, exasperating and heartbreaking. The public does not accord status and monetary compensation to you as you work with the most vulnerable people in the world -- children. The media do not emphasize the successes which teachers achieve daily. They do not dwell on the difficulties of working with children in today's society. Therefore, we know that you have not chosen teaching for either status or money. What has impelled you to teach must be the desire to give of yourself so that others can develop into productive and fulfilled human beings. If this is not one of your main motives for becoming a teacher then you have chosen the wrong profession. The giving must include time and effort that seem to be endless. Perhaps you will find lesson plans and activity ideas arising in your mind when you are at the movies. You may feel concern about a particular child when you are entertaining your friends. If your desire is to benefit children you will find that you will think and worry about them any time of the day. Teaching is not an eight-hour activity.
The road to excellence in teaching can be difficult and it can't be traveled overnight. The first few years have to be ones of experimentation and self-examination. Once you realize what your strengths are you must continue to improve upon them. Don't ever think that what you did the first year is what you shall continue to do each year. We all have our individual styles and if you are genuine, your students will sense this and respond with respect and will desire to work for your approval and their success. If something works well one year, do try to incorporate it in succeeding years -- but experiment and make it better. Teachers who repeat the same things over and over again are teachers who become bored and embittered. Don't ever be embarrassed because you are excited by what you are doing -- even after twenty or more years in the classroom. Enthusiasm for what you are doing is an important key to success.
One of the reasons teachers leave the profession is because they fail to see where they have made a difference. One never knows, entirely, how one has affected another person. However, students come back to teachers many years later to tell them how their lives have been affected and even changed. It isn't subject matter which changes people's lives. Skills change people's lives. Competence and self-esteem enable students to gain confidence. Knowing a teacher who can be trusted changes student's lives.
You need to face this fact -- you may be the one steady influence in your student's lives. This may be true whether you are teaching elementary or secondary school. The home situation, of too many of today's young people, is unstable and dangerous. If you can provide a measure of stability, your students will find it easier to learn and will then test well. The best way to accomplish this is to be "real." Acknowledge from the beginning of the year that you and your students are on this life journey together. Too many teachers view their students as adversaries, not partners. If you can convey this partnership relationship to them, you will find that the validation of knowing that you have made a difference. It will make up for all the frustrations you will encounter. The high that comes about when understanding lights up a student's face cannot be duplicated. Validation is the key for both the student and the teacher. May you and your students experience this high repeatedly.
My best wishes to you as you start upon this journey!
Myrra Lee
Marilyn Black
1979 National Teacher of the Year
May 2000
Dear student,
You have all heard that the three best things about teaching are June, July and August. Let me tell you the REAL three best things about teaching.
You get to work with the world's most valuable resource, children and young adults. If we are to have a future, these youth will become that future, and you will have an opportunity to share in their nurturing and development.
There will never be a typically routine day. No other job offers you the opportunity to be in control of your own daily plan, and to work in an environment where every day is different. Because you will be working with youth, routine is non-existent and each day will present new challenges.
You will never have to grow up and become old in your thinking. Being surrounded by the enthusiasm of youth, you will be able to continue to experience the wonders of learning through your students' endeavors. Your creative juices will know no bounds, and you will have the freedom to allow your students to dream, as you help guide them toward their dreams.
Teaching is not a job, but a way of life. If you have a zest for living, and are a cheerleader for life, then the teaching profession is for you. Join the band wagon. You will never be unemployed, as there will always be children to be taught. At the end of a day, a school year, or a career, you will be able to say, "I have made a difference!"
Marilyn Black
Beverly Bimes-Michalak
1980 National Teacher of the Year
Dear Madeleine,
I just heard the devastating news-- you're leaving teaching. In some ways, I understand, for we both know how difficult it is to teach in inner-city schools, where the challenges are always great and where the resources and knowledgeable leadership are often scarce. I also understand your frustration for, over the years, we certainly have shared lots of tears. However, you always put these tearful sessions in perspective by saying, "I'll close my door, and focus on my students. I'll teach." Now, it's hard to believe that when the door closes on Room 222, you won't be there.
I remember the day I first walked into your room. An entire wall was filled with a question that was surrounded by students' successful work. The quote read, "Do not allow anyone to convince you that you are not intelligent, not good and not valuable." As I scanned the room, I saw a class of engaged and enthusiastic learners, and I knew immediately Room 222 was a special place--a place of achievement and hope.
Your students come to you cloaked in years of failure, downtrodden by overwhelming, bigger-than-life problems, and wearing the limiting label of special education students. Yet, none of their defeating pasts are visible in your classroom as you celebrate your students' hard-won successes and new perceptions of themselves. Over the years, I've watched your non-achievers become achievers and make the discovery that they are, indeed, special in every sense of the word.
Do you remember when your students published an anthology of their best writing and invited relatives, friends, central office administrators, the principal, and other staff members to attend an authorsí publishing party? Parents and grandparents, frustrated by years of low expectations for their children, cried proud tears, for they had tangible evidence that their children could be successful learners.
Do you remember when you gave your students certificates of achievement the last day of school? I'll never forget Laticia's proud proclamation, "I've never worked this hard to earn anything. I'm going to hang it on my wall. Whenever I think something is too hard for me, I'll look at it, and it will remind me that I can do anything if I keep on trying." In your classroom, Laticia found that her own hard work had an impact on her success, helping her to unlock and move beyond her life-defeating pattern of failure. You provided learning experiences that allowed her to discover that she could succeed in real world tasks and have an impact on society through genuine effort and dedication to tasks. Laticia will never be the same, for she has gained a sense of self-efficacy that will propel her through life. She will never forget your good-bye hug that celebrated her fierce determination, triumph, and success.
Do you remember Nick, your student who had a unique talent for getting into trouble and avoiding classes by spending most of his time in in-school suspension? On one of his rare appearances in your class, I witnessed an amazing transformation. As other students worked on their pieces of writing, Nick sat gazing out the window, planning his next escape from learning. Somehow you sensed this and sat down beside him, asking about his grandfather who was very ill. Your soft concern caused a floodgate of words to spill from Nick as he emotionally talked about his grandpa, and how they had done everything together. Then, he said, things began to change; he didn't want to do anything with his grandpa. And now his grandpa was probably dying.
He then began to write feverishly. When the period ended, he didn't want to stop, and he left your classroom reluctantly. Throughout the day, he kept reappearing in the room, cutting his other classes because he felt compelled to write. Spurred on by his success with this first piece, he planned a series of short stories about his grandfather and him. Prior to this, Nick had never written anything more than a paragraph, for he thought he hated to write. Imagine his own celebration when he found there was a writer within, and his writing was published in a national journal--not to mention the renewed and treasured relationship between grandfather and grandson. And all because of you.
Without you, will these life-changing celebrations in Room 222 continue? Maybe, but most likely not. Who will help your students make sense out of a chaotic life? Who will help them unmask their capabilities and talents, enabling them to take control of their learning and their lives? Who will cultivate the skills they will need to escape the shackles of poverty and to lead productive and meaningful lives? Who will teach them the value of hard work and persistence? Who will replace despair with hope and achievement?
Madeleine, you will never find a more rewarding life, for the greatest use of live is to spend it on something that outlasts it--students. And great teachers, such as you, are a rare treasure. I hope that you'll reconsider, for I can't imagine you in a world without students or students without you.
Warmest regards, Beverly
Jay Sommer
1981 National Teacher of the Year
Dear Beginning Teacher:
I have always felt being a teacher is a unique and challenging experience. To work with young people and to influence them is a responsibility and a privilege.
A teacher who understands the dynamic nature of the profession will continue to develop and grow professionally. Often a teacher forgets that many things have changed since he received his degree: new and additional learning strategies, a changed student population. Last year's lesson plans or examinations carefully filed away for future use may no longer be relevant in next year's class.
In the past ten years, we have seen the advent of numerous teaching aids designed to better motivate students and to make teaching more effective. A teacher who continues his professional education will be able to use these aids and, at the same time, to distinguish them from the "gimmicks," preserving the best in the traditional and utilizing the best in the new.
Another very important challenge to a teacher is the necessity to be constantly aware of individual differences among students. Though teaching an entire class, a teacher must never forget that he is facing a group whose members are different people with varying personalities and abilities. A teacher may well find that not all students can completely grasp the material within the assigned class period. As difficult as this may be, a teacher must give extra time to give to those students who need it, clarify subject matter and provide an opportunity to discuss problems that may be interfering with learning.
Most important in the teaching process is the relationship a teacher establishes with his pupils. A responsive, supportive relationship between teacher and student establishes the best kind of atmosphere for learning. Not persistent punitive measures, but kindness and understanding are the most potent forces in learning. Strained relationships in the classroom make learning unpleasant, and may, in fact, produce in students an intense and lasting dislike for education. On the other hand, inspiring students with a sense of their own worth gives them the confidence to express themselves more freely, to explore and learn through their mistakes, and to regard learning as an adventure.
The teacher's kind disposition, aside from being a good educational tool, has an importance beyond the mere teaching of subject matter. The demonstration of love, understanding, and forgiveness is a human lesson profoundly vital to the education of each pupil in growth toward maturity and humanity.
The interaction between the teacher, students, and community members is of paramount importance in teaching and learning. A teacher who knows the community in which he works possesses a better understanding of his job and of his students. It is, therefore, very important that the teacher becomes involved in the life of the community.
Jay Sommer
Le Roy Hay
1983 National Teacher of the Year
April 2, 2000
Dear Teacher:
I spent over 23 years as a classroom teacher, and I wouldn't trade the memories of those years for anything. But I did leave the classroom six years after being honored as the 1983 National Teacher of the Year. So, what happened? Did the love off teaching fade? Did the well-known daily hassles of teaching overcome me? Did I sell out for a better paying administrative position?
The answer to my question is actually "none of the above." Yes, I became an administrator and my salary did increase, but I chose to do so because I wanted the opportunity of helping teachers at all grade levels. In effect, I became a support for and a teacher of teachers. And, yes, the daily hassles of being a teacher did increase as our society and thus our students became more complex and diverse, but I expected and accepted the frustrations. But as for the "love of teaching," I don't think that feeling ever fades in those of us who commit our lives to this special profession.
However, I simply reached the point in my career where I wanted to try to impact teaching and learning across all levels in a district. My salary is higher than the teachers in my district, but I'm not rich. My daily hassles now emerge from the bureaucracy and politics that undergird public education rather than the frustration of trying to teach and reach children who come to my classroom wearing the complexities of the world in which they live.
What hasn't changed is my love for teaching, and that love is why I still recommend teaching as a profession. If you're seeking wealth and an easy workday, this profession isn't for you. But if you want to make a difference in the lives of children, school is the place to be.
The ultimate reward of teaching is very hard to explain to anyone other than another teacher, but I want to share one experience that I had not long after being named Teacher of the Year.
I was flying back home from a speaking engagement, when I realized that I had promised to visit an elementary classroom in the district in which I teach on the next day. I was exhausted, and that promise suddenly seemed like a major chore.
I was going to speak with these elementary children about the U.S. space program. In 1985 I was honored to serve as the sole teacher on the national selection committee for NASA's Teacher in Space Program, and my friend, who was the teacher in this classroom, thought her students would really get excited about meeting someone who had met Christa McAuliffe as well as Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, who had walked on the moon.
And indeed they did get excited when I was there, and they asked my all kinds of questions about the future of space exploration, treating me as if I had walked on the moon! However, one young man sat quietly, stared at me, and said nothing at all. I took this as a challenge, and assumed that as a "master teacher," I should be able to reach him. Sadly, nothing changed-- he simply stared.
Then the teacher indicated that there was time for one more question before they had to get ready for dismissal. Suddenly, his hand went into the air, and I, of course, called on him. He said, "Mrs. Marx told us that the nation's best teacher was going to speak in our classroom today, and I donít understand. I thought Mrs. Marx was the nation's best teacher."
I can see his face as I write this, and his words continue to echo in my mind. You see, that's the essence of what teaching is really about. It's those moments when you realize that you have made a difference as Judy Marx did with this young man.
Teaching will not be easy and you won't get rich, but you will have the chance to touch the lives of children or young adults and quite likely play a key role in helping the promise of a better tomorrow for them to come true.
Lee Hay
Mary V. Bicouvaris
1989 National Teacher of the Year
April 20, 2000
Dear Nancy,
I was saddened to hear you tell me that you were seriously thinking of leaving our profession after 15 years of teaching. Since then, I have penned to you many letters in my mind, but every time, I have stopped short from putting them on paper, overwhelmed by the very idea of watching another great teacher walk out of the profession of her choice.
You have called me your mentor, and I have told you many times that I have learned more from you and often used you as an example of the kind of teacher every child needs. The stories you told me about your 3rd grade students are permanently etched in my heart and mind. I hope that you forgive me, as I try to use these same stories hoping that I might change your mind about leaving the classroom.
Nancy, do you remember the little boy who often came to school riding on the local police patrol car, picked up by a caring police officer as he waited, cold, unkempt and hungry, for the school bus long gone? His mother, he told you, wouldn't get out of bed to get him ready for school, but he knew he must get to school. You hugged him with your eyes, and you told him that he was your hero!
Do you remember the little girl who asked you, "teacher, would I know who my father is?" You couldn't tell her "he is the man that stands by your mother, the man that comes home every night, the man that reads you at bedtime, the man that is always there for you." But, you gently put your arm around her slight frame and lost for words you said "somehow, sweetheart, you will know who your father is". Not much of an answer, but the little girl said "thank you, teacher" and walked away relieved.
Nancy, do you remember the young man 18 or so, whom you taught in a 3rd grade special education class, who called you with excitement to tell you about getting his first job? He said that he knew you would be happy and proud, and you were!
Do you remember when you asked your students to make a sentence with the word "cereal"? A little girl wrote: "the cereal killer was caught." You said that you wanted to cry. Why would the mind of an eight year old child go to serial killers instead of breakfast cereal, you asked. But, as you wiped a tear away, you were more determined to make your classroom a heaven of peace, love and learning for the children entrusted to you.
I will never forget what you told me about Friday afternoons. You said that as you watched the school bus leave the school grounds, taking your students home, your heart was heavy, worried about many of them and about the heavy toll that long weekends at home have on them. You said that they often came on Monday, tired, angrier, with neglect spelled all over them. But you went to work Monday after Monday and with warmth, acceptance, calm, good stories, peaceful routine and engagement in their learning you created a loving environment for the education of the children.
Nancy, I know that you are not running away from the children. You have dreamed dreams for them, you gave them platforms for their thoughts, you made them believe in themselves! You, like all good teachers, have moved mountains on their behalf.
As you make your final decision, about staying in or leaving our profession, I assure you of my respect and I dedicate to you with love a poem I read sometime ago, author unknown:
Only A Teacher?
I am a teacher!
What I do or say
is being absorbed by young minds
who will echo these images across the ages.
My lessons will be immortal,
affecting people yet unborn,
people I will never see or know.
The future of the world
is in my classroom today,
a future with the potential for good or bad.
The pliable minds of tomorrow's leaders
will be molded
either artistically or grotesquely
by what I do.
Several future presidents are learning from me today;
so are the great writers of the next decades,
and so are all the so-called ordinary people
who will make the decisions in a democracy.
I must never forget
these same young people
could be the thieves and murderers
of the future.
Only a teacher?
Thank God I have a calling
to the greatest profession of all!
I must be vigilant every day
lest I lose
one fragile opportunity
to improve tomorrow.
Wishing you health and joy in your heart,
Your colleague, Mary V. Bicouvaris
Thomas A. Fleming
1992 National Teacher of the Year
April 2000
Dear Dominic:
I am happy to hear that you are thinking of becoming a teacher. I want you to know why I think that is a wonderful choice. As I have said to you before, my twenty-five years as a classroom teacher brought me many challenges. Some turned into successes; some were clearly failures. I had days of high motivation and other days when nothing seemed to work -- especially my students! But my hope was always to help students think for themselves and develop the confidence that they could become leaders of others. My subject matter was simple: " FONT themselves. change actually would they read, what about writing and talking thinking reading through that them show to is, -- read? who ?persons become process the in events current literature with interact how students my tried I things.? places,
I often challenged my class to think about their future careers. Whenever I mentioned that some of them might become teachers, I would usually get a few laughs. Who would want a job where such hard work is rewarded with a paycheck that is merely "average"? Who would want to work in a profession that seems to be so unappreciated by the press and public as teaching?
Well, I'll tell you. If I had to do it over again, I would still become a teacher. Teaching is hard work, but its personal rewards are priceless. Every time one of my students demonstrated mastery of a skill, every time one of them wrote a coherent paragraph, or presented a history research project with accurate documentation, I felt such a sense of satisfaction and pride, right along with my students.
Dominic, to become a good teacher you must understand the value of life-long learning. Information is without value until a community of learners receives it, reflects on it, and makes it a part of their lives. Then, and only then, does it become knowledge. When each student in the class contributes to an understanding of the subject, learning comes alive as a shared experience of human discovery. Each one contributes to the understanding of all the others. Learning individually or in a group almost never happens in a straight line. The questions that arise lead to other questions. They are not always the questions that are in the textbook, but questions that can be grouped under the heading: "What does this have to do with me?"
As a teacher, you will have similar experiences. I encourage you to be the best you can be. When you or one of your students comes to a difficult spot, try to remember what it was like when you were a student yourself, and what helped you then. Recall the advice of your mentors. And don't let bureaucratic issues erode your commitment to your students. Follow your heart as well as your head. But remember, the future of every young man or woman you meet is not your responsibility alone. You will play your part, and what you teach, day by day, semester by semester, with all the clarity and passion you can summon, will contribute to, but not determine, the outcome of their lives. You may not see the results at the time. Nevertheless, your contribution is significant. You'll be surprised how many of your students will come back to tell you that. Or you may unexpectedly meet them on the street, or be waited on by one of them in a restaurant, or see one of them on television or on the cover of a book. You'll be surprised!
Let me know how it goes.
Sincerely, Thomas A. Fleming
Elaine Griffin
1995 National Teacher of the Year
April 14, 2000
Dear Sarah,
I'm so glad that you've decided to become a teacher. You've chosen a career that gives you infinite room for growth, that you will never tire of, that will never become boring. Whether you choose to teach in rural Alaska, as I did, or in downtown Chicago, every day will present new challenges, and yet your career itself will help you build the inner resources to overcome many of these obstacles. When I began teaching, I wasn't sure what experiences would prove the most valuable to me, but as I look back through the photo album in my mind, I see three snapshots of definitive moments in my career.
First, I see Arthur sitting across the table from me at his house in the village, carefully pouring tea into his best cup. He's invited me over to talk about the school behavior of his son, Tim. I slowly pick up a piece of smoked salmon from the table, putting off the moment when I will reveal my concerns about Tim's irresponsibility in class. Suddenly, Tim himself walks by the window, rolling a drum of oil up to his grandpa's cabin. Arthur's face lights up, and he turns to me saying, "Isn't Tim wonderful? He's the most responsible son I have."
Sarah, I hope you will take the time to have a cup of tea in every family's home each year before the school year starts. Learn to see your students through their parents' eyes. They have insights to share with you that will make your teaching - and your life - immeasurably richer. Talk to them about issues that are important to them. Get to know them as people, not just as anonymous parents who send children to your classroom each day.
In my second snapshot, I see Jason sitting next to me at the round table in the library. We've just read Francis Bacon's essay "About Revenge," and the students are discussing whether there is ever a time when taking revenge is justifiable. Jason, who in the past has had a hard time connecting with school, is concentrating hard. His eyes are focused on Erin who is speaking to him across the table. I follow their interchange of ideas and suddenly realize that they have given me powerful insights into questions I have never before asked myself.
Sarah, be sure to protect some time each day from the forced march of measurable progress. Step out of your teaching role, and make this an occasion when you and your students can learn together. Reserve this as a time when you can connect deeply with students and their ideas. Whether your class is devoted to the art of dance or the art of discussion, this will be an opportunity for you and your students to be truly united as scholars.
In my final snapshot, I see myself climbing to the top of Gokyo Peak in Nepal. As I stumble along at an altitude of almost 18,000 feet, my breathing is labored and harsh. I force myself to take the last few steps. Suddenly, I am gazing directly across at Mt. Everest. The wind blows a plume of snow off its triangular peak, mirroring the burst of freedom and elation I feel.
Sarah, I hope you will make time to pursue outside interests that will nourish your spirit and restore the energy you will be expending in the classroom. Be creative in how you provide that time for yourself. My husband and I did it by sharing our jobs with two other teachers; we taught the first semester and they taught the second. It doesn't matter whether you climb mountains or volunteer in a refugee camp or catalog artifacts at a dig, because whatever you do will give you insights into the true role that education plays in all our lives.
In the years to come, I'll be looking forward to hearing your stories,
Elaine
Mary Beth Blegen
1996 National Teacher of the Year
April 17, 2000
Dear Scott,
You wrote me a letter a few weeks after you started teaching. In it you spoke of a word the Maasa tribesmen of Kenya use when they want to remember all of the people who have helped them in the past. You said that you carry "Harambe" with you from those people who have helped and guided you.
I've used that story many times as I talked with teachers and other people around the country. When I am telling it, I remember you as a seventh grader with pencils in your ears, as a junior playing a salesman in our school play and as a senior asking and doubting, questioning and challenging me and yourself every step of the way.
You have taught seventh grade Social Studies for almost two years. By now you have sensed the enormous challenges that come with running a classroom and working in a school. I suspect that your patience has at times worn thin and that you wonder whether or not you are where you need to be. I also hope that you have experienced the joy that comes with teaching. The joy that comes when you know that a kid has a different view because you've helped him to see things differently. The joy that comes when you sit down across from a kid and just talk because he needs to be with his teacher.
I want you to stay in the profession, Scott. We need you so badly. We need your intellect, your attitude and your deep sensitivity. We need you to push the profession to do things differently. We need to reach beyond your classroom to challenge the profession and the teachers in it to get better. We need you to doubt the way things have always been done in favor of change and the discomfort that come with the new. We need you to be so uncomfortable that those around you will sense that you are a leader and that you are ready to speak up and out for kids and for teaching.
You are one of those people, Scott, who never is satisfied. You were always restless and searching. Your profession needs that same restlessness and searching in this time of dramatic changes. The kids you see every day need you to be their advocate. They need you to be fearless in your desire to make sure that our schools are places created for kids and places where their being known and their learning come first.
In my drawer at work I have a picture you drew which portrayed the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. No one else could have drawn it. It was your way of showing at once your understanding of history and your frustration about humanity. You will make a difference in the world, Scott. I sincerely hope that the difference you make is as a teacher. Thank you so much for being a teacher.
Sincerely, Mary Beth
Sharon M. Draper
1997 National Teacher of the Year
SO YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT BEING A TEACHER?
A Letter to a Prospective Teacher
Dear Friend
Who would ever want to be a teacher? A teacher makes no money, gets no respect, and makes no difference to anyone! Now wait a minute. Is this true? Or are we listening to exaggerations and remembering stereotypical images of the bespectacled, mean old Miss Crabtree from old movies? Think back to all of the teachers that you have encountered in your eleven or twelve years of schooling. Which one stands out in your memory? What grade?
- The kindergarten teacher who was not afraid to give a hug when needed?
- The third grade teacher who taught you the magic of cursive writing?
- That fifth grade teacher who made you retake that spelling test fifteen times until you triumphantly got them all right?
- The history teacher who showed you the world of humanity?
The math teacher who taught you not only the intricacies of numbers, but also the practicalities of balancing a checkbook and figuring the discount at a sale?
- The science teacher who showed you how the physical and the natural world worked together to give us life on earth?
- The gym teacher who showed you how good it felt to run fast and to push yourself to the limit?
- The music teacher who showed you that a complete individual needed a full complement of expression?
Somewhere in your educational career, one or more of these outstanding individuals opened your mind and showed you the way. That teacher made a difference in your life. And when you become the parents of the twenty-first century, and you will, with young ones to care for and educate, who will teach those children? Who will make a difference in the lives of the next generation? If none of you choose to go into education, to make a positive difference on the lives of children who are not even born yet, who will be there to guide them, or direct their minds through the beauty and complexity of the vast wealth of knowledge that we now control?
As you consider teaching as a career, I'd like to offer my own personal response to teaching as a profession. My students often ask me, "Why are you a teacher?" implying that teaching is a terrible career choice. I tell them in response, "I teach because I need you as much as you need me. I teach because once upon a time a teacher made a difference in my life, so I am here to make a difference for you." I was probably born to be a teacher. As a child, I taught my dolls, my dogs, and the kids next door. I never wavered in my desires and determination to become not just a teacher, but a really good teacher who made memories in the minds of children. From my early days of student teaching when I learned that acting out history made it memorable for me as well as my students, to my first teaching assignment where I broke down and cried in front of the class because forty-two disruptive students in a makeshift, renovated classroom did not fit my glossy vision of educational excellence, to today where my seniors wear T-shirts, proudly proclaiming, "I Survived the Draper Paper," I continued to try to make a difference--one child at a time. For our greatest accomplishments in education are not the plaques and awards, but the smiles and hugs and memories of children touched today and somehow influenced tomorrow.
They ask me about the lack of respect for the profession. I respond with, "Raise your hand if you don't respect me!" They grin and see my point. They want to know about the lack of financial rewards. I tell them honestly, "I'll never make what a basketball player makes, but then, neither will most of you. It's not fair that our society pays it entertainers more than it educators, but I make a good living, can support a family, and send my children to college. And I get extra benefits--smiles, hugs, and the knowledge that what I do really matters."
I once asked a class of fourth graders to give me their definition of a good teacher. These are their responses:
A good teacher is soft enough to hug, but too hard to punch.
A good teacher knows lots of dirty jokes but only tells the clean ones that make you laugh.
A good teacher is not scared of thunder and lightening and knows what to do when the lights go out.
A good teacher never makes fun of you when you do dumb stuff like throw up or forget the answer.
A good teacher would be fun to have at your house for dinner, but you'd never want him to come for real.
A good teacher knows a little bit about a lot of stuff, and a whole lot about things you need to know.
A good teacher makes you have so much fun you don't know you're learning, and then when you've learned it, you realize it wasn't hard at all.
A good teacher never has bad breath.
A good teacher loves you and you know it.
If we could all live up to this simple list, we'd be successful teachers. The children are waiting. Every year, the school year begins a cycle--of freshness and possibility. New shoes, notebooks, and hopes all shone with the beginning of a new school year. As students you accomplished this cycle many times. Each new school year is filled with new hopes and possibilities--new bookbags and textbooks, fresh clean paper, and more often than not, a new teacher to encounter. A teacher who has the potential, just like a new textbook, to open your mind to ideas as yet unimagined. Why not be that teacher? The one who sings the song that you'll always remember. The one who lights the candle that you'll always carry.
Young teachers are waiting, unidentified and unknown, in third grade and seventh grade and eleventh grade classrooms. We must look to students long before they graduate from high school and steer them to a career in teaching. Those students who would be natural teachers are sometimes never identified because no one takes the time to nurture the idea in their minds.
I once had a student named Pedro who was a natural leader of people, an organizer, a lover of knowledge, and a skilled deliverer of information, even at age 17. As he approached graduation, I asked him in what subject he planned to major. He replied,
"I don't know. I'm going to register as 'undecided'."
Surprised, I asked him, "Aren't you going to major in education?"
"Why?" he asked. "I never thought about it."
"But you're a natural teacher," I insisted.
"I am?" he asked incredulously.
"Sure," I continued. "You speak well, learn well, and you know how to share what you know and make someone else understand it. That's a gift. You're a teacher!"
He grinned with recognition of a knowledge that he had not given himself permission to acknowledge. I opened the door to the possibilities, and he is now in his third year as an education major at Ohio State. Suppose no one had had that conversation with him? A wonderful teacher would have been lost.
Think of your parents and what school was like for them. (Very few of them actually walked to school barefoot ten miles every day in deep snow, as they like to exaggerate.) They had no computers, no cell phones, no pagers--none of the modern conveniences that we take for granted. Just as your parents had less to learn than you do, your children will learn more than you can imagine. We will need well-trained, dedicated teachers who can make this transfer of vast amounts of knowledge a reality. Children are waiting for a teacher to make a difference in their lives. That teacher can be you.
excerpt from Teaching from the Heart
©2000 Sharon M. Draper
1997 National Teacher of the Year
Permission to reproduce granted by author.
Philip Bigler
1998 National Teacher of the Year
Dear Leah:
Congratulations on your new teaching position in Singapore. I know you will find it to be a wonderful and exciting experience. I can't think of a better person to be teaching--you are such a warm and caring young lady.
I have been an educator now for over 22 years. It is hard to believe how fast the time has gone by. When I started teaching, I was so young and naive but over the years I have gained an understanding and an appreciation of the role teachers play in our society. It is truly a noble profession and I am confident that you will make a lasting difference in the lives of countless children during your own career.
If I may, I would like to offer you some modest advice before you leave. Hopefully, you can benefit from some of the wisdom I've gained through many years of experience and maybe you can even avoid some of the mistakes I've made.
First, Leah, don't ever be afraid to try new things as a teacher. Schools, like our society, change over time and it is imperative that you stay current and fresh. Always seek new and better ways to teach and be on the constant lookout for new ideas and methodology. Today, computers, the Internet, and technology have the potential to revolutionize instruction but the continuing challenge remains to translate the massive amounts of information available into knowledge and then into wisdom.
I urge you to teach your elementary school students to love reading and to cherish books. I hate to be an educational reductionist, but I am absolutely convinced that reading is the answer to most of our current educational problems. Indeed, as one of my colleagues told me, the first three years of school is devoted to teaching students to read so that they will read to learn for the remainder of their lives. So true.
Finally, take pride in being a teacher. I now know that teachers perform small miracles every day and have dedicated their lives to making a better future. As our principal at McLean used to say, "To be a teacher is to be forever an optimist."
You were always a wonderful student, Leah, and I know that you are going to be a great teacher. Much success and continued happiness.
Best Wishes, Philip Bigler
Andy Baumgartner
1999 National Teacher of the Year
April 17, 2000
An Open Letter to a New Teacher:
In six weeks, I will end a two-year adventure as a traveling ambassador for American Education! First as the 1999 Georgia Teacher of the Year and now as the 1999 National Teacher of the Year, I have been participating in a truly unique and richly beneficial professional development experience! I have had the opportunity to greatly increase my pride as a member of the educational profession, and to broaden my knowledge base, while adding numerous and varied skills and techniques to my teaching repertoire. And that has all come my way by benefit of meeting and observing teachers and educational support personnel in classrooms and other school venues all over our country.
What I have witnessed, firsthand, in this professionally rewarding and personally maturing journey enables me to state emphatically that this is, indeed, one of the most exciting times in history to be a teacher! Across our nation, a spotlight of great intensity is being shined on our public schools; for the first time, the education of our children has taken its place as the number one political "hot topic." One can rarely turn on a television or open a newspaper without being reminded by politicians that education is the surest means of realizing the "American Dream."
I would be remiss, however, if I did not acknowledge the fact that this is also one of the most difficult times in history to be a teacher in an American classroom. With our schools beginning to emphasize competition over social consciousness, mistrust of authority and distrust of public servants increasing, and the horror of recurring acts of violence that define so many of our communities growing, educators are receiving much misdirected blame. As a group, we are often being misrepresented as poorly trained and grossly ineffective. As our professional credibility is being challenged, the personal motives behind our actions as teachers seem often to be in question, as well!
"How does one sort through the many and confusing descriptors of life as an educator, in order to plot a successful and rewarding careen in teaching?" you ask. I can only relate what I have observed about my colleagues:
The effective teacher always considers the needs of his/her students first!
The truly successful teacher knows and cares about students as individuals and worthy members of a school community.
The well-balanced teacher is equally adept at planning, instructing, evaluating, remediating, and enriching.
The motivating teacher makes learning relevant, exciting and fun.
The beloved and remembered teacher instills in students an unquenchable thirst for learning and a resilient desire for success.
The happy, healthy teacher finds joy in the work and in family, hobbies, and other pursuits outside of teaching.
The gratified teacher identifies and celebrates even the smallest of victories.
The professional teacher recognizes and willingly accepts a share of the responsibilities that lie beyond the walls of the classroom or the grounds of the school.
Can you make it in our profession? You can if you hold on to your ideals and pursue your dreams. You can if you possess a great deal of patience for your students, courage in maintaining your convictions, and perseverance in the face of difficult assignments and rigorous demands. And you can if you always pursue professional growth toward excellence in your field! Good luck and good teaching!
Sincerely, Andy B.
