2002 Warner School Award for Excellence in High School Teaching

Keynote Speaker: Marion A. Simon

This program to recognize teaching excellence began several years ago when Rochester Community Savings Bank – now Charter One Bank –developed a program with the Warner School to encourage school districts in our region to think about what made their teachers special. Over the years as this program has grown my husband (who was actually responsible for initiating the awards) and I have become more and more committed to the importance of publicly honoring you. RCSB’s programs provided the seed money, but we chose to continue it personally because of the fantastic teachers we’ve met over the years. We know all too well you get blamed for everything that goes wrong – and we want to make sure that people hear about the things that go right!

While jogging down my road the other day – I heard an NPR report on how the market for teaching jobs in California has changed radically in the past year. From a situation where school administrators didn’t know whether there would be enough teachers to fill the classrooms on opening day to the current condition – where prospective teachers are lining up to apply for teaching positions at job fairs. We know why this is happening – there are no longer as many good, stable jobs in high tech companies so that people who might formerly have scoffed at the idea of teaching are now considering their options. This is a good situation! Or is it? What is wrong with the picture when there are now more qualified teaching job seekers than ever before?

What is wrong is the motivation. As I listened to the report – I heard young people saying things like “I have been rethinking my priorities,” or, “I am looking for job security, stability and doing something useful.” Not bad, but somehow it doesn’t ring quite true for me. To me, and to you, teaching is about believing passionately about our work – caring about the kids – and feeling down to the tip of our toes John Dewey’s philosophy that “education is not preparation for life, but life itself.”

I don’t want anyone to think that the phrase “caring about kids” is a platitude. It is the base from which all else flows. It isn’t abstract you know – like – “I really care about the kids” – its getting to know where they come from, treating them with respect and making every effort possible to reach them – without really knowing if we’re really making any global difference.

I read a terrific book recently – I recommend you all get a copy of it: “Stories of The Courage to teach: Honoring the Teacher’s Heart,” by Sam Intrator. I read most of the stories written by teachers themselves – about their fears, joys, discouragements, etc. But perhaps the most important phrase from the book – something we’ve all heard before is: “It’s the teachers, stupid.” The main thesis of this book is that if we want our schools “to be places that promote academic, social and personal development for students, everything hinges on the presence of intelligent, passionate, caring teachers working day after day in our nation’s classrooms. Teachers have a colossal influence on what happens in our schools, because day after day, they are the ultimate decision makers and tone setters. They shape the world of the classroom by the activities they plan, the focus they attend to, and the relationships they nurture.”

Teaching to us is about people and subject matter and also about community. The young people lining up for teaching jobs today – sounded very bright– but if we are to keep them and halt the tremendous teacher turnover that occurs (I read estimates that between 50 and 80% of our teachers leave within 5 years) we are going to need to find ways to “sustain their vitality and faith in teaching.” This is something that you and your administrative colleagues can make happen. Although teachers are with people all day long – they can often feel isolated and lonely, especially if they are new to the profession – you need to find ways to welcome them, mentor them and make them part of your community.

You’ve succeeded because you are an integral part of your community – we know that because your colleagues and students chose you, as one of their best. You need to extend that nurturing environment by making it comfortable and possible for new (and not so new) teachers to sit down with colleagues to work out a difficult problem, to mentor students and younger teachers, and, of course, also handle the paperwork.

My friend from my first year of teaching still loves to tease me about my messy lesson-plan book – all those red marks I got from my supervisor as I tried to figure out how to make NY State government exciting, while either getting 25 7th graders awake at 6:45 AM (we were on a split shift then) or the same 25 children to calm down at 5:00 PM. I know I learned more that first year about my subject matter, my students, my colleagues and myself than I ever dreamed possible. By the way – I think I could now make state government interesting – perhaps even exciting – but then that’s a whole other story. The important story is my lifelong friend and colleague – who showed my how to do it.

The best teachers are those who respect their students, earn the respect of their students in return and feel this great sense of optimism. I recently read about “the best-kept secret in education: The passionate and talented teacher makes more of a difference than any school policy.” Remember that – you make it all happen - but also remember that you cannot do it alone. You must be part of a nurturing community – and the word education comes from the Latin word educare meaning “to nurture, bring up.” The fact that you are here in company with your principals, partners and/or friends, tells me you are an integral part of a teaching, learning, nurturing community and we are proud to honor you because of how you honor us by the work you do – day after day, year after year.

I would like to end my comments by relating to you an incident that was reported in the book I quoted previously: The author describes himself as a relatively new teacher with an old car that is giving him trouble. He takes it to the shop and describes the problem to the mechanic – a man about his age early 20s. “Almost immediately an older man comes over and the young mechanic tells the older one what the author has described. The older man asks, “Did you check the exhaust level? “Yes.” After a few minutes of probing a 3rd mechanic comes over. Meanwhile the author is reading his students’ papers – but overhears the older mechanic say to the younger man: “Good idea about the vent. If you pull it off and test it and then put it back you’ll get it running.” The author then thinks about his students (or actually one in particular) and muses, “What can I do for Tommy? Dow do I help him make better decisions? How do I support his talent? How do I help improve his abysmal writing skills?” Here I sit, watching three mechanics put their head and talent together about the stuttering idle on my jalopy and I’ve got kids back at school teetering in their lives and I have nobody to talk to, work with, or confide in about what’s going on. The young mechanic starts the car and it hums. The older guy pats him on the back, and he lights up obviously proud of his accomplishment. What can we learn from this? Teachers need to be able to sit down and problem-solve with a wise and experienced colleague – about a variety of issues from how to prepare for tomorrow’s class to guidance and feedback on a technique, to thoughts on how to help a particular student. My hope is that you will all find, build, treasure and nurture such a community. My hunch is that you are already doing just that and, once again, I want to thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to honor you.