Gaining More Than You Give
By: Angie Ditsler
Last week I had the most amazing volunteer experience. One of my most favorite Success By 6 volunteers asked me to return the favor and volunteer for a project she was working on in Shelby County. When I first agreed to be a guest judge for the Shelby County Teacher of the Year Award I assumed that meant I’d be reading over nomination forms and scoring them. But how well can you really judge someone’s teaching ability and impact on his or her students from reading an application? My question was answered as soon as I received my judging packet in the mail, and saw that I’d be spending the day observing teachers in action and interviewing them individually about their jobs. I couldn’t wait!
When I arrived at the Central Office that morning I met the other guest judges, a reporter for the Sentinel News and a school administrator in the Henry County school system. Together, we read over the bios of the teachers we would be meeting later and then headed off to our first school.
I was absolutely blown away by what I observed that morning at Heritage and Simpsonville Elementary Schools. It has been years since I stepped foot in fifth grade and kindergarten classrooms. In some ways, my mind was immediately taken back to my days spent sitting in a beanbag chair in the “reader’s corner” in Mrs. Waggener’s classroom devouring novels as she played soft music in the background. In other ways, I couldn’t help but think, “Where in the world am I?!” There were no chalkboards in sight- instead the teachers wrote with their pointers on “smart boards” and erased the board with the click of a button. I also noticed that neither classroom had a teacher’s desk. My fellow judge explained to me that these schools practice what is known as “child-centered classrooms,” meaning the teachers are immersed in working alongside their students rather than lecturing from the front of a room. I couldn’t help but feel “behind the times” as I looked around the rooms and watched these teachers work their magic on the students.
When it was time for the interview portion of the day, I found myself straying from the scripted questions and asking the teachers about every detail of their days. I was just so fascinated by everything I heard! But what I marveled at the most were the teachers’ responses when I asked them why they continue to do this job after 10, 20, and even 30 years. All responded, “It’s the kids.” It was apparent to me that these were people living their passion. I definitely gained more from this volunteer experience than I gave. I walked away feeling inspired, motivated, and even more energized to pursue my passions, too.
