How does one respond to being nominated Teacher of the Year?

I was recently nominated by my peers at my new school as Teacher of the Year for my campus. I literally teared up in my Principal's office upon hearing the news for so many reasons as it was a long and hard road towards obtaining my own degree and I know there are many dedicated, passionate teachers at my school. Also, considering it is my first year at this school and I am an Electives teacher and rarely get to see the other staff since I teach when they have their team meetings, I guess they have noticed what we've been up to in Art class!

Part of accepting the nomination means applying for teacher of the year at the district and state level and completing an application that asked the following. My response is below. I only hope it does my students' justice. I don't really care about winning.

Education Issues and Trends 

            A.  What do you consider to be the major public education issues today?

                  Address one in depth, outlining possible causes, effects and resolutions.

I believe that the major issue facing public education today is the fact that 16 million children in America, one of the richest nations in the world, live in poverty.  In addition, there is a growing disparity of equal opportunity and equity between various races and socio-economic statuses. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 22% of children in the U.S. live in families that are considered poor. Child poverty rates are disproportionately higher among African American, Latino, and Native American children.

My public teaching career has consisted of working in Title 1 schools where the majority of my students are of color and also happen to qualify for free or reduced lunch. Bearing daily witness to the devastating effects of poverty on my students, has only further impassioned me to continue working with youth who have been labeled at risk, underprivileged, and underserved. Sometimes I worry that these kinds of labels only pigeonhole the students and cause them to wonder why they should even bother if it is presumed they will fail academically and likely drop out before graduating.

During my student teaching at a school in Northeast Austin, I more fully understood the need for programs such as “Coats for Kids” and “Blue Santa” when one little boy’s coat was filthy and full of holes. He frequently fell asleep in the morning because he did not get there in time for the free breakfast. At another position in Southeast Austin during the colder months, we would often hold our activity time indoors as a hoodie was the only outwear the majority of students were able to wear as so few of them had coats. Even at my current school in the colder weather, students often come underdressed and wear the same clothes over and over again. When families are struggling so hard just to survive, education often takes a back seat. I understand it can be hard for a child to focus academically when they are not getting enough to eat, when they may move frequently and be living with multiple other families, and when there may be familial instability and dysfunction at home. It can be hard to focus when you don’t know where your next meal is coming from.

I know I cannot solve this issue alone or the effects of poverty such as the higher likelihood of mental and behavioral problems, feelings of instability, addiction, divorce, and other health problems. The only thing I do have any power over on a daily basis is to show compassion for each one of my students and do what I can each day to give them a safe and stable environment. All too often school is the only safe and structured place students have to go to and sometimes we, as teachers are the only reliable adults present in their lives. There is a great sense of hopelessness and isolation that can come with the effects of poverty, and it is vital that administration, staff, teachers, students, and families are given the time and opportunity to come together to create a network and community of support.

We as teachers have the ability and duty and honor to relate to our students on a personal level, provide them with a classroom culture of respect and personal responsibility, delegate power and leadership opportunities, and give them a sense of purpose to help them become successful citizens as they grow older despite their circumstances. The most powerful tool to success in my experience is not to underestimate their need just to have an adult simply listen to them.

As an art teacher I have particularly seen my students’ desperate need for self-expression and creativity, to be able to have and share their unique voice in a room where there isn’t just one right standardized answer to bubble in on a scantron, and have been told more than once that the only class that keeps them coming to school is mine or their other courses in the arts. The arts help nurture the imagination and soul in ways that are immeasurable by standardized testing. When I was hired as a teaching artist to create community murals at schools in Southeast Austin, I gave students their own sketchbooks to help generate ideas. Towards the end of one session, I heard a small, tenderly incredulous voice say “You mean, we get to KEEP these journals, Ms. Gray?” and I said “Of course you get to keep them. I brought these here for you.”