Inspiring Educators: Weekly Roundup 10/29/18
Do you know any inspiration educators? Do you remember any from your own school days? We’d love to know! Tweet us @enrichingedjobs. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this week’s roundup, featuring a P.E. teacher who goes above and beyond, the head of Art and Design at an academy in Nottingham, and a lunch lady in Virginia Beach who is putting smiles on students’ faces in a unique way. We hope you enjoy this week’s stories!
P.E., health teacher and coach Dana Townshend was just awarded with teacher of the year at Cherokee County School District in Georgia. Why did she receive this honor? According to the school’s Superintendent, it “is the care she shows for each student. This care is so great that, this school year, she developed a program to ensure every child at Mill Creek has a mentor.” Deeply invested in her students, Townshend also adds to her PE class by drawing from experience teaching reading, social studies, writing and science. And how does she feel about her job? Townshend says “It’s really a blessing to be able to do this every day.” Read more about this remarkable teacher, and the district’s teacher of the year program.
Hayley-Dyer-Ince Head of Art and Design at Carlton Academy in Nottingham, England, has been nominated for the ‘Heroes’ award. A fellow educator nominated her, and says “I’ve been teaching for 11 years now and it’s not very often you come across someone who is as committed as Hayley. Everything she does is for the kids,”. She works hard to help her students, giving up time during lunch, after school and more. In addition, she collaborates with other teachers, and involved in teaching workshops about how art can inspire students. Why does she teach? “I came into teaching with the view of making a real difference and to shape the next generations.”
At Kingston Elementary School in Virginia Beach, cafeteria manager Stacey Truman is brightening students’ days with inspiration messages…written on bananas! Not only has it inspired students, who view the bananas as ‘talking fruit’, to eat more fruit, but it’s added a bit of kindness and encouragement to their day as well. The school’s principal is thrilled with the idea. “It’s simple,” he says, “but these words can help them be more courageous and realize that they are good enough. I hope that other schools see it’s an easy way to get a kind message to kids.” Learn more about Truman’s creative act of kindness, and the response it’s gotten on social media.
