What My Students Have Taught Me (PAGE One Spring 2022)

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA EDUCATORS

SPRING 2022

What My

Students Have Taught Me Georgia Educators Speak about What They’ve Learned — including Empathy, Building Relationships, and More

ALSO: Student-Centric PL STAR & FGE Educator Grants Teacher of the Year More...

Y E V M A T H A TS E H W EN T M D H U G ST TAU state what insights and wisdom they have learned from their students over the years Exceptional educators transcend lesson and how these lessons have positively plans and textbooks. They listen, build impacted their lives, classrooms, and trust, nurture relationships and, above all, overall approach to teaching. they care about their students.

We asked: “In all your years of teaching, These teachers all have something else what have your students taught you?” in common: they never stop learning.

In the pages that follow, you’ll hear from They learn from many sources — life experience, family, friends, mentors, seven Georgia educators as they speak peers, professional development and, of about what they’ve learned — including the importance of empathy, building course, their students. relationships, and how they know their We asked educators at all different stages words matter even years after a student of their careers and from throughout the has left their classroom.

By Scotty Brewington

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BILITY • CURI OSITY • RELA TIONS HIPS • AUTH ENTICIT Y Spring 2022

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For Carson Johnson, 18 years of teaching has taught her that the hardest years in the classroom — and the hardest students to reach — are almost always the most rewarding.

“If I had to sum up what all of my years of teaching have taught me, it would be to always teach the student first,” said Johnson. “You’re not just teaching the curriculum — you are teaching individuals and investing in children’s lives.”

Johnson, who has spent her career working with special education students in kindergarten through fifth grades, initially chose special education because of the challenges that come with teaching young children with unique learning needs. She now says she can’t imagine doing anything else.

“It is hard every day, but I have also learned so much about myself through teaching students with different needs and abilities,” said Johnson. “For me, it’s a challenge both personally and professionally because my own daughter is being served by special education. I go in every day with the goal of teaching my students the way I would teach my own daughter, and how I want her teachers to teach and approach her every day.”

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For Johnson, her students have also taught her empathy. Beyond having compassion for students with learning differences, Johnson tries to see things from her students’ perspectives. It is this deep sense of empathy that ultimately enables her to connect with students and help them become successful.

“I didn’t have that connection with my students until I started to understand what it must feel like to be them — to have an extreme disability in math, for example, and what it must feel like to wake up each morning and come to school with your peers, knowing that you have to face this every single day,” said Johnson. “It’s more than just having compassion. I try to imagine what it must feel like and then put myself in that perspective on a daily basis.”

Johnson, who was named the 2021-22 Teacher of the Year for both Riverview Elementary School and Dawson County Schools, incorporates that sense of empathy into her classroom and is always looking for teachable moments to show her students what it means to be empathetic.

For Johnson, the ultimate reward is knowing that her students will leave her classroom understanding

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how much she cares about them.

She said she wants all her students to know that even though she pushes them in class, it is because she wants them to succeed. Beyond teaching academic subjects in the classroom, Johnson strives to model what empathy and love can look like outside it. That starts with her motto, which hangs on her classroom wall: You can do hard things.

“I had a student say to me once, ‘I can’t do hard things.

I can only do normal things.’

I thought, normal things for him are hard things,” said Johnson. “I push them, but I want them to know that I love them. For some, love looks like support. Love looks like encouragement. Love looks like perseverance and, often, it is crying along the way but knowing that I am there with them on the journey.”

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Dawson Coun ty's Carson Johnson works with her students to le arn hard thin gs.

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Chris Peace has been a teacher for 10 years — all of them in Blakely, Georgia, near the Alabama line. In a small town like Blakely, everyone knows everyone, and teachers and students frequently run into each other outside the classroom.

Peace knows his community well. He grew up here and even graduated from the same high school where he now teaches chemistry, physics, forensic science, and robotics, and coaches eSports, the emerging sport of competitive video gaming. This hometown dynamic creates even more pressure to lead by example, Peace said.

“I live in a small town where everyone sees you every day. When I go to the grocery store, the person checking me out in line might be a student, a former student or the brother or sister of a student,” said Peace. “You always have to be a positive role model because if

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“I try to attend m y student s’ activi ties ... Stude nts will ask me why I go and I say, ‘I we nt to see you b ecause I wanted to support you.’”

kids see adults not behaving, why would they behave?”

Peace said that teaching has not only taught him the importance of being a servant leader, but also the impact it can have when you take a personal interest in your students and show them that you care about them as individuals.

“You have to get to know all of your students and really understand where they are coming from. It’s important to be seen as an active member of the community,” said Peace. “I try to attend my students’ activities — and not just football games. I have gone to dance recitals, band concerts, even activities at one of the churches here. Students will ask me why I go and I say, ‘I went to see you because I wanted to support you.’”

Peace entered teaching as a second career but said if he could do it all over again, he

Spring 2022

Chris Peace, a scie nce teacher in Early Co unty, says knowing his students is key to success.

would have become a teacher 10 years earlier. The most rewarding part, he said, is seeing his students graduate and achieve things on their own after high school.

“We always talk about the ‘aha moments’ when students really ‘get’ something in class and that is rewarding, but it’s also great to see them later as they go off to college or into a profession and they remember when you taught them and what a positive influence you were on them,” said Peace.

Peace credits his students with teaching him how to be a better teacher.

“My math teacher would work a problem on the board and a few problems later, I had it. But I learned that other people aren’t that way,” said Peace. “My first year teaching, I had to stop and reevaluate what I was doing and how I was teaching. I realized that I was explaining things the way that I would understand them, but I had to explain them in a way that others could get it, too. My students showed me how to teach different ways and for different learning styles.”

Peace hopes that all his students learn one thing from him: that they can achieve anything they set their minds to.

Spring 2022

“It doesn’t matter where you came from or what kind of homelife you had. If you want to — and you put the work into it — you should be able to achieve anything,” Peace said. “One of my students just got into Harvard and is going to be a surgeon. She is one of the first in our county to go to Harvard. I taught her, but she got there because of her. I tell my students — my class is going to be hard, but I am just trying to get you ready for school so that when you get to college and sit down in that chemistry class, you will have at least a few weeks where you know what you are doing and won’t feel like you are already underwater.”

W KNO UR O Y L L A TS N E D STU

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Jennifer Bowers

Houston County Schools Houston County High School French Teacher, Foreign Language Department Chair

Jennifer Bowers remembers a day years ago when she ran into a former student whom she had not seen since graduation. Just after saying hello, the student turned to her mom and said, “Mrs. Bowers said I was a great writer.”

Though she had forgotten that particular compliment, Bowers said she realized in that moment how much her words matter.

“I loved that her memory of me was something positive. It was the first thing she remembered when she saw me,” said Bowers. “As teachers, we have so much influence over our students. When we say something, they will remember it — and if they remember a compliment, they will remember the hurtful words, too. They have taught me how much our words matter — not just as teachers, but as human beings. People remember what you say to them. It is important that we are kind and use our words to be supportive and to help them be the best they can be.”

Bowers said that meeting with her former student impacts how she relates to her students today.

“It made me think of how I relate to all of my students,” she said. “Every student is good at something. As teachers, it is our job to help them find out what that is.”

Bowers said she tries to make her classroom a supportive environment where she speaks to students with kindness and everyone encourages one another.

“If you notice something great about somebody, let them know. As a teacher, when you do that, you are investing in students so that when you do have to say, ‘I notice you didn’t do this assignment or this needs to be improved,’ they will know it came from a place of caring. You have invested in them and they know that you care about them.”

Jennifer Bow ers works to notice somet hing great in her students at Houston County High School.

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CE I T O N HING ET M O S T A E R G

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BE IC T N E H AUT

TracEy BroadnaX

Atlanta Public Schools Crawford Long Middle School Science Teacher, 7th Grade

Tracey Broadnax has been a teacher for just three years, but she has already learned a lot from her students.

“I never realized as a teacher how many hats I had to wear,” said Broadnax. “I grew up in Alpharetta and am now teaching on the southside of Atlanta. Students here have a lot of challenges that I didn’t experience. You have to be a teacher, but, sometimes, you also have to be a counselor and even a parent.”

As a new teacher, Broadnax also learned the importance of being authentic.

“When I first started teaching, teachers would say to me, ‘you have to put on a stern face so they understand the tone early on.’ But that’s not me,” said Broadnax. “For me, being young and not that far removed from school myself, I speak to them in a way that makes them feel valued and

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respected. I still keep it professional, but being one of the younger teachers at the school, they respond to that and it helps me build stronger relationships with them and their parents.”

By listening to her students and making them feel valued and heard, she is able to earn their trust in the classroom. It’s a lesson she has learned from her own experiences as a young teacher.

“At my first school, people would sometimes talk down to me because of my age, not really understanding what I was trying to do or realizing the impact I could have in my classroom. I was at such an early time in my career,” said Broadnax.

“I really love my school here. I feel valued and I feel like my opinion matters. I want my students to know they should just stay focused. Don’t let what people tell you about yourself stop you from achieving your goals.”

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Kim z e d n a Fern Schools Dublin City y d Academ Irish Gifte e Teacher First Grad

Dublin Cit grade te y Schools first acher K im Fern is a big andez believe r in buil relation ding ships.

Students have taught Kim Fernandez many lessons throughout her teaching career.

“Building relationships is the single most important thing I do with my kids,” she said. “They have taught me that I need to do the things I expect of them — listen with undivided attention, make eye contact, and acknowledge their presence. I greet them at the door and make them feel special and important.”

To be an effective teacher, said Fernandez, you also have to be a good listener. “Sometimes, when students bring up something, these are the most important life lessons that can be taught in class.”

Often, students understand more about life than we might realize, she said. A decade ago, while undergoing cancer treatment, Fernandez said she went through a tough time.

After being out for several weeks, she returned to the classroom. “That first day back, a student said, ‘Mrs. Fernandez, are you wearing a wig?’

At first, I was guarded about looking

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different,” she said, “but the kids started laughing and said they liked my wig. They taught me to embrace what I was going through and just have fun with it.”

Another lesson she has learned from her students is to be real. “That goes a long way to building trust,” she said. “Then, when you make a mistake, they understand, and they know it’s okay when they make a mistake.”

Ultimately, Fernandez says she hopes her students know she cares about them. She remembers one fourth grade student she taught years ago.

She and the school counselor took him trick-or-treating so he would have a chance to go.

“I want my students to know they matter and that I care,” Fernandez said. “If my students can walk into my classroom and feel that they are loved and safe, then I can teach them.”

BUILD RELATIONS HIPS

"Sometim es, when student s b ring up somethin g, these are the most importa nt life less ons that can b e taugh t in clas s."

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Debb ie Partrick

blic Schools Gwinnett County Pu hool Trip Elementary Sc STEM Specialist

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Debbie Partrick’s students have taught her countless lessons over the past 27 years in the classroom, but one that stands out is the importance of praise. She remembers one group of students in particular who were living in a motel with their mom and acting out in class. A little praise turned everything around.

“We all want affirmation in one form or another and so do our students,” said Partrick.

“This requires so little effort. Just one statement like, ‘Wow, I never thought of that idea’ or ‘I love that observation’ can completely change a student’s attitude and effort.”

Another lesson? Relationships matter.

Partrick remembers one of her first experiences teaching middle school with a particularly tough student who was struggling academically and being disruptive in class.

“I went to his football game and the next day, I told him how great he played. His whole attitude turned on a dime,” she said. “I never had any discipline problems from him again and he ended the course with an A! You have to let kids know you care about them even outside of school.”

Partrick said another thing her students have taught her over the years is that all kids are curious and all want to learn — and learning in a fun, hands-on way is best.

“I want students to truly have a love for learning. Education is so important. I firmly Spring 2022

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believe that,” said Partrick. “I was a free lunch kid. We didn’t have much money at all, but the thing that made me successful was that I loved learning. Education is what will carry you forward. No matter where students come from or how much money they have — if they have a love of learning, they will be successful. I want them to continue their education no matter what.”

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Valery Dinkins Columbia County School District Martinez Elementary School STEM Coordinator

In her 25 years as an educator, Valery Dinkins said she has learned the importance of being flexible.

“You have to be open to change.

There is not just one way to do things.

You have to have an open mind and see that big picture,” said Dinkins.

“Don’t just say — this is the way we have always done it. Find ways to make things better.”

Another lesson she has learned is that what you do now for students will stay with them. Though you may not think that what you are doing in class today will have a lasting impact on your students, they will remember.

“When I taught middle school, we had a 'coffee house' poetry event at the end of the unit. Years later, I ran into a student who continues to write — and did throughout high school and college —who thanked me for doing those kinds of activities,” she said.

Building relationships with students is also critically important, said Dinkins.

“When you start teaching early on, you may not see the importance of those relationships right away, but it is those relationships that show students you are listening and that you care about them,” she said.

Setting goals for students and giving them a voice in their learning can also be very impactful, Dinkins said. Students should have a say in their learning so that they have buy-in. You always want to set high expectations for students.

Sometimes they exceed that and go further. Other times, you want them to reach their goals — and they can do that with support, she said.

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“I want all of my students to know that it is okay to take risks in their learning – either in problem-solving or creativity,” said Dinkins. “Be courageous enough to take those risks. You’ll never know unless you try.”

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