Recently in one of my courses we had the privilege of
receiving a visit from the 2017 South Dakota, Teacher of the Year, Beth
Kaltsulas. To our liking, Beth just so happened to be a fellow math educator at
the middle school level. While visiting our campus, Beth was able to visit and
present to many different content areas of the education department, and
fortunately to our math class as well. Dr. Vestal gave a brief introduction and
then Beth took the floor. Coming into our class she had up to three different
presentations prepared to share with us young, future educators and you could
feel the energy within her as she was realizing her reality at the moment.
As Beth began speaking and sharing her experiences and
stories, I found my mind wandering (sorry Beth) to the same questions over and
over again:
- What did she do differently that set her apart to become teacher of the year?
- As a young educator, did she set this as a goal of hers to claim this title one day?
- Were there steps to follow to become the SD Teacher of the Year?
- Is there an equation? (She is a math teacher!)
As she shared her stories I began constructing what this
equation could possibly be. It seems as if you might:
Take your four years of education, SUBTRACT at least two years of that education that didn’t apply to
teaching, ADD a dozen lessons you
learn within your first year of teaching
MULTIPLIED by the number of students that prove your education courses
wrong, DIVIDED BY the number of
students that prove your education courses right, ADD the number of additional hours you need to spend outside of the
classroom MULTIPLIED by the number
of students who need your help outside of the classroom, ADD every single club and organization in the school MULTIPLIED by the hours spent chaperoning
and participating in each of those, SUBTRACT
your so called 8:00-5:00 job, ADD the
expectation to teach all the standards MULTIPLIED
by the number of classes you teach and those specific standards, while still SUBTRACTING the idea of teaching to the
test while ADDING the use of
technology any way you can while SUBTRACTING
the fact that your school board has limited resources and walahhhhh! = Teacher of the Year.
Well as with anything else in life, I realize the answer to
most of these questions was not what our math brains want. There is no
one answer, no process and procedure to follow, no problem to
derive and make logical sense of, and of course, no equation. Before I continue
on, I want to make it clear that I am not writing with the mindset and
intention to figure out how to become Teacher of the Year one day. Beth was awarded this honor for a
number of reasons, and I am sure she would say there were also a number of
teachers that could have also received this award. My ideas in this blog are
not to minimize this award to a simple procedure to follow, knowing that would
belittle the teachers that have dedicated themselves to being great educators,
and great people, but rather to highlight some of the attributes all great
educators have.
Beth shared much of her own personal philosophy and mantras
for teaching, some of which I too hope to implement as a future educator. She
had philosophies on homework, use of technology, testing, quizzes, just about
everything and you could tell her years of experience have equipped her well
for each of these pieces. As she continued sharing I found an overarching theme
within her teaching style that I felt covered all that she had mentioned: Welcome Change.
Beth is not a stagnant educator. Just about every story she
shared included the idea of her needing to change, adapt, or alter something.
She was willing to change for her school, for her administration, for the
technology uprise, and for her students. Beth constantly seemed to be striving
towards always being able to answer the question, “Is this the best for…?”
while never inserting her name at the end of that question or fearing the work,
time, and effort that these changes may require.
Her principal needed her to teach a special education class,
in which she had no experience or training. She welcomed the change. Technology
has vastly changed and enhanced since she became an educator. She welcomed the
change. The idea of a flipped classroom came prominent and popular within the
education world. She welcomed the change. She found many students struggling
with math and felt the need to start a Math Academy. She welcomed the change. And
now, after receiving Teacher of the Year, she’s being asked to speak at a
number of conferences, seminars, and to all types of classes. She’s welcoming
the change.
I recognized this trait within her from only listening to
her speak for about an hour. It is clear, that to be this type of educator, we
as teachers need to always be searching for what’s best. Allowing ourselves to
lay down our own personal mantras and philosophies when needed. Always willing
to learn from others, and implement accordingly. Always searching for new and
better, while keeping what is good. Always welcoming change. Thank you, Beth
for teaching us future teachers. Thank you for sharing your experiences and
time in order to better the education world around you. Thank you for welcoming
change at whatever cost to make things better for others, and for allowing us to learn from your example.
By Bailey Jorgensen
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