Lee: My mom has been the greatest influence on my journey to becoming an educator. I watched her dedication through various roles in public schools during my formative years. I am a fourth-generation educator, and it seems that serving in education is somewhat in our blood as I have several cousins and both my siblings serving in education. Witnessing my mom’s passion for children, teachers, pedagogy, and educational theory allowed me to see the significance of education on society. When I was deciding on a career field, I truly could not envision myself outside of the education field because I was so influenced by my mom’s impact. What truly distinguishes my mom, and many educators like her, is her unwavering commitment and relentless pursuit of what benefits both students and teachers.
Lee: There is a lot of joy that comes with teaching middle schoolers at Smyrna Middle. I am drawn to middle school because of the abstract thinking beginning to develop with students during adolescence. I really enjoy watching students grapple with complex texts and ideas in ELA and build metacognitive skills that help them understand themselves as readers and writers. This is especially special at Smyrna Middle where there is a diverse student body with students from various backgrounds learning and growing together.
Lee: If my students recall anything about me, I hope they remember that the work made me smile. Sometimes students remark that I smile "a lot," but I hope that my smile conveys the genuine joy I feel in being with my students and engaging in this work. I am very blessed to work with students each day and I hope the smile shares the overflow of joy I feel doing this work.
Lee: If the job feels difficult, that might be because it is! You are in the business of understanding individual’s motives, brains, and how to best support their development. My advice is to stay curious about your practice. Reflect often and keep positioning yourself as a learner. The hard feeling is often what leads us to make significant impact.