BSW "Teacher of the Year"

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Thank you, Mark.

And thank you for dropping by.

Episode “Teacher of the Year”

I was a teacher for over a quarter of a century. During that time, I taught lots of students, in lots of classes, in several schools.

But I was never a “Teacher of the Year” in any of the schools where I taught.

Never.

Not once.

I did, however, take a class once from a real “Teacher of the Year.” He had been a “Teacher of the Year” not just at his school, or his district, but for the entire state of Montana.

That was impressive.

I was excited to take a class from him and see what made him special.

He taught an evening class at the University of Montana on International Education, which was part of my graduate program. He was still teaching high school full time, but one night a week, I got to experience what went into being a “Teacher of the Year.”

I was not disappointed.

Right from the beginning he learned our names and tried to get some information about each one of us. He was well prepared, and his lectures about educational systems in other parts of the world were fascinating. And he encouraged those of us in the class to share our experiences and observations.

I have to admit, our discussions were excellent learning times.

He made everyone feel important.

It was pleasure to be in his class.

There was only one “issue” I had with him. 

Excellent Points

I don’t remember the exact topic — give me a break, this was a couple of decades ago — but I do remember during the lecture that one of the class members made a particular observation about the educational system we were studying.

“That’s an excellent point,” the teacher said.

He always said things like that when we spoke in class, which made most of us want to participate in the discussions.

Then another one of the students disagreed with the statement the first student had made and laid out a completely different observation.

“That’s an excellent point,” the teacher said.

The teacher’s statement caught me by surprise because the two points were diametrically opposed to each other. If one was true, the other one had to be false.

Remember, the teacher had created an environment where participating in discussions was valued and encouraged.

So, I joined in the discussion. I pointed out that both statements couldn’t be “excellent” observations, because if one was true, the other had to be false.

“That’s an excellent point,” the teacher said.

Now I like making excellent points, but that’s when I realized how he became “Teacher of the Year.”

Rather than digging into each of the observations and trying to discover where truth really lay, he was focused on each of us being valued and praised for our participation in the class.

We ended up that night of study continuing to make “excellent” points, but never coming to hard conclusions as to what was true.

I think you may enjoy this story.

“Blind Bride Blindfolds Guests and Groom Who Is Moved to Tears 'Seeing' Her Dress With His Hands” by Louise Chambers of the Epoch Times.

Before I go, I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.

“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)

Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today!