Opinion: Teachers, strong and committed to excellence

By Steven Schiff/Special to HCN

I recently was invited by the Mabank Independent School District Superintendent to sit on a panel of three local citizens and interview six potential candidates (one teacher from each school in our district) for Mabank Independent School District Teacher of the Year. It was interesting that these six finalists were chosen by their peers to represent their particular school in hopes of securing the sacred crown of “Teacher of the Year”. Many of these teachers had even undertaken professional development for teachers to hone their skills as educators and transform their students’ learning experiences.

When I arrived early to the Mabank Independent School District Administrative Building, entered to conference room where the interviews were going to take place, I couldn’t help but think back to my days as a Special Education teacher in Willingboro, New Jersey.

Fresh out of college and eager to set the world on fire, I remembered the very first day of walking into my classroom. Walls bare, desks unassembled and chairs all over the room, I decided to create an environment that where my students felt warm and welcome on a daily basis. With no direction and no previous experience, I began to set up my classroom based on what I thought would be best representative of a classroom that I would like to visit and be a part of on a regular basis. Limited supplies and leftovers from the previous teacher – I pulled the pieces together and made my classroom into a learning environment where my students felt at ease upon entry, yet was filled with reminders of how to behave and the important of respecting others.

As I thought about my first classroom, it is remarkable that not much has changed since my first day as a new teacher many years ago. There was the struggle for the funding of needed supplies, updated technology and of course the lack of a decent salaried program designed to meet and/or exceed the current and ever raising costs of living.

During my almost seven years of teaching in Willingboro, New Jersey, I was 100 percent dedicated to the children in my school and classes and to the community in which I taught. I not only taught my classes during the day, spent time working with the PTA (Parent Teacher Association), raised thousands of dollars for the local high school student scholarship fund, but also worked at a part-time job for thirty hours a week doing maintenance work at a local condominium complex.

Thinking about my experiences back in those days, really helped me to look deeply into the candidates that were chosen as the finalists that I was about to interview.

As I met with my two other counterparts and we readied ourselves for the interview process, it dawned on me as I reviewed the paperwork associated with each finalist for MISD Teacher of the Year that the one other thing that remains consistent (from when I taught and even today) is the dedication of our teachers to the children, their well-being and also to their community.

So one by one, the interviews started. Nervousness was apparent as each finalist sat in the “hot seat” and was asked a series of questions relating to his or her experience and driving forces behind the decision to become a teacher. I enjoyed talking to them about the different methods they use to teach and mark. Some mark the tests all in one go after school while some use an easy grader calculator online.

Overwhelmingly, each finalist answered that one of driving forces behind him/or deciding to make his/her career path as an educator (teacher) was an experience (good or bad) associated with a teacher that had crossed their path earlier in life. Every one of the candidates took the opportunity to tell the story about how a teacher from their past influenced them one way or another in making them who there are today.

As the interviews continued, I can honestly tell you that each one of the finalists could have been presented with the honor of Mabank Independent School District Teacher of the Year. The total dedication to the profession, the relentless ongoing training and countless hours of preparation in the evenings coupled with the human desire to help shape and mold another person to reach beyond the norm and accomplish anything they set their mind to was incredibly apparent.

All of the interviews concluded. The process was amazing for me to experience, but more importantly, it reminded me about my past and how lucky I am that a teacher took an interest in helping me to reach towards my goals and make something of myself. It also reminded that if it weren’t for our teachers, I could not do what I do today and I probably couldn’t even write this article.

Although I cannot reveal at this time who the final candidate is for Mabank Independent School District Teacher of the Year, it would be a good idea that the next time you see a teacher, take the time to thank them for what they do and for the continued dedication to educating our children so that tomorrow they can continue to learn and reach out to become whatever they want to be.

To all teachers who came across my life – thank you for sharing yourself with me, for caring, listening and challenging my mind.