2 minute read
Retired Perspectives
You’re A Big Deal!
By Karen Askerooth, NDU-Retired President
Here we are in December and to speak quite frankly ... I am ready for 2020 to go into the archives as I am sure many of you are, too!
I pondered long and hard when I was told that I was scheduled to write an article for you all and that the Teacher of The Year was one of the subjects in this publication. I had NDU do a little digging for me and the North Dakota Teacher of The Year has been given away since the 1960s. Think about all those retired teachers, current teachers, and let’s not forget the future of our aspiring educators as this award provides validation for years of hard work and sacrifice for our teaching profession.
According to the criteria for the National Teacher of the Year Program: “A Teacher of the Year should inspire all students to learn. Teachers who aspire to this award do not stick to the textbook or traditional methods of teaching. They find creative ways to make the material accessible to their students, staying upto-date with best practices and applying for grants to help enhance instruction.” Last March when COVID-19 rocked our schools, our teachers were forced to set aside the traditional methods and they rose up to the challenge and are foraging on.
Teachers of the Year are well-known in their communities and have earned the admiration and respect of parents and community members. These are the teachers who work to make the community a better place for their students and who teach their students to have a positive impact on the community, as well. They are involved in local events and regularly interact with education stakeholders in the community. I challenge these communities to support their teachers in the trenches.
So, in closing, I congratulate the past, present, and future Teachers of The Years and end with this definition:
{TEACHER (n) tee-cher: A multi-tasking educational rockstar who lives to inspire and loves to encourage. They’re kind of a big deal! } P.S. Membership in NDU does not stop when you retire. NDU-R needs your membership to continue our goal to engage, motivate and connect all members to advocate for our past, our present and our future.
Go to: NDUnited.org and tap Join ND United. Yearly or lifetime memberships are available with automatic withdrawal for payments.
