Source4Teachers CEO Kendley Davenport and Regional District Manager Joseph Fitzgerald recently attended Roanoke City Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year Award Ceremony. The district put together an inspiring video which we wanted to share with our subs. It shows some footage of the three amazing finalists in action and captured some of the teaching strategies they use, why they love teaching, and why it’s such an important job.
A few meaningful excerpts:
“I can not imagine a greater job or any other place I’d rather be than my classroom… I love every day with my students. I love seeing the joy as they understand new concepts… What other profession allows you to make such a difference in the lives of young people that will have such a lasting impact, not only in our community, but in our world? I can’t imagine any other job that would pay that kind of dividend.” – Melissa Harnist, Math Teacher at Roanoke Valley Governor’s School
“The biggest challenge is helping students to move into the mindset that they are capable of doing anything they would like to do. Many of these students come with the preconceived notion of how far they can get or what the ceiling is on their life. My challenge is to try to figure out a way to help them move beyond that ceiling.” – Fletcher Nichols, Art Teacher at Patrick Henry High School
“I try to motivate my students by my attitude. I try to be positive all the time, give them positive feedback… I try to make science fun, not a chore to come to class. I incorporate different learning styles to make it interesting. I try to make it relevant to them because I find that if it’s relevant to them, they’ll have more buy-in and they’ll be more willing to learn.” – Erika Hackworth, Science Teacher at Woodrow Wilson Middle School
Source4Teachers congratulates the Roanoke Teacher of the Year, Fletcher Nichols and the runners up, Melissa Harnist and Erika Hackworth, who were honored at a banquet at the Jefferson Center. We were also pleased to contribute $500 as sponsors of one of the runner-up prizes in the competition. These teachers are prime examples of what our subs should aspire to be like!