BEST TE ACHERS
Why are you a teacher?I can’t imagine doing anything else that makes such a
di erence in the lives of young people.To share my love of the subjects I teach
and to come up with creative lesson plans where you can almost quite literally
see the light bulb go o … there is no greater feeling than that.To make them
laugh in the classroom or to beam with pride when they stay after class because
they just want to talk more about something you taught them. At the end
of the day I have made a di erence whether I realize it that day or not. I think
teaching is the noblest of the professions… We teach all of the other ones!
Why are you a teacher?I decided to be a teacher in fifth grade,
thanks to my incredible teacher, Kelly Evans. She really devoted
herself to her students and made us feel so loved and valued. I had
always been shy and self-conscious. She built a classroom community
that allowed her students to really shine. I was inspired to do this for
others. Mrs. Evans is on my mind each year when I meet my new set of
students.
Tell us a success story about a student you helped. If you teach long enough,
you sometimes get the privilege of seeing the results of your teaching in the
adult students you bump into. When I was teaching fourth grade, I had a
snarky, highly intelligent, kid in my class who didn’t seem to love school and
actively disliked reading. After months of trying to figure out what might
inspire him to attempt independent reading, and failing miserably, I discovered
we shared a love of comic books. Luckily my husband had thousands and
I was able to get him engaged in reading… finally. Well, that kid went on to be
my student teacher, and an amazing one at that. He is now teaching fourth
grade, too. I can only hope his kids are making him work as hard as he made
me work to get them to enjoy reading, too.
Tanya
Lancee
Current school and grade (subject):Sprayberry High School — ninth grade
AP human geography; 11-12th grade AP psychology; 12th gradehonors
government and economics
Other schools/grades/subjects previously taught: Teacher in San Diego
How many years have you been an educator?19 Emily Zolan
Current school and grade (subject): Bullard Elementary — fifth grade
Other schools/grades/subjects previously taught:
Bullard Elementary — third grade
How many years have you been an educator?9
Jennifer
Powers
Current school and grade (subject): Addison Elementary — fifth grade reading
Other schools/grades/subjects previously taught: Addison Elementary — kindergarten through fifth grade, early
intervention program and special education inclusion classes
How many years have you been an educator?21
30 COBB LIFE | JANUARY 2022