Day Seven - The Inspirational Teacher

Prompt:  Who was or is your most inspirational colleague, and why?

When I look for inspiration, I really don't have to look too far.  That's because I work in an amazing school district that strives towards excellence every single day.  The majority of my colleagues are amazing individuals who strive to provide their students with the best education.  There are a couple of teachers at my particular school that were my freshmen teachers (and it's really hard to call them by their first name, no matter how many times they tell me to).  Either way, I've been blessed with an amazing array of teachers to choose from, but at the same time, it makes this decision kind of difficult to make.  However, sitting here thinking about a possible response, there is one person that actually stands out...

When I was first hired by the school I presently call my home, it was nerve-wracking thinking of how I was going to fit in at this school.  I seriously felt like the new kid that was entering school in the middle of the school year.  Most people had been working together for years, and I was a newbie.  Anyways, at our first faculty meeting during the PD week, there were a couple of teachers who asked if they could sit with me (as I was sitting by myself hoping that someone would just casually sit in one of the empty chairs).  I was more than happy to actually have someone to now talk to, and I as a talked to these women, I realized that they were the type of people that you can't help but be happy around.

One of the women was Marie Pechacek, and in the past couple of years, she's inspired me with the amount of devotion and passion that she has for teaching.  Now, we don't teach the same subject - she teaches English I, and I teach World Geography - but I can't help but be in awe with the amount of poise and knowledge that she displays every day.  The way she is able to connect with the students and get them so pumped about reading (which is pretty darn difficult), one can only hope that they can master the same skills within their classroom.  Last year I spent a couple weeks observing her teaching technique in preparation for a tutoring period with students that were retaking a state English assessment, and I was able to see first hand how she interacted with her students.  I left her classroom everyday wishing that I had had the chance to be in her class.  Also, I'm pretty sure that if you asked any of her students (past and present) what they love about her and her class, they wouldn't stop talking ... yep, the list would be that long.

Seeing her excel with her students is amazing, and last year she was even selected as the Teacher of the Year for our campus.  I'm not afraid to say that not only did I vote for her, but I also put down her name when the e-mail asked for nominations.  It was nice to see that her strive for excellence and her ability to push her students to their maximum potential.

I see her as an inspiration because I would love to be able to reach just about every student that walks through that door, just as she does.  And, with as much poise as she does.  It's awe-inspiring watching a teacher do what they were born to do.  I can't help remember one particular conversation that I had with her about how students were going to have to know exactly what they wanted to do with their lives in preparation of picking out classes in high school to fit those educational/career pathways.  I told her that I had been completely in the dark about what I wanted to be when I was their age.  I kid you not, she looked at me and said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Seriously, I've known since I was a little girl that I wanted to be teacher."  It all makes sense; when you know what your destiny is, you can't help but be the best version of yourself.

So, thanks Marie for be such an amazing inspiration (hopefully you get a chance to read this...).

-A