REBEKAH SMITH

Center Grove Elementary 2024 Teacher of the Year

GRADE 4
24.5 Years of Teaching; 20.5 Years at Center Grove 

It is hard to put into words why teaching is important, but when I asked my sixteen year old son, he said, “just think of all the lives you’ve impacted over the years.” When I asked my students, they had many thoughtful responses, but my favorite was, “you get to teach people who are going to make great contributions to the world!” I believe children are our most valuable resource, and I consider it a privilege to play a small role in preparing them to be responsible, caring, and productive citizens in our communities.  Of course academics play a large role in this preparation, but more importantly, inspiring them to be kind, honest, fair, problem solvers and free thinkers who know how to have positive relationships with others.

In today’s world with constant access to technology and information, many of our students lack focus, grit, patience, and communication skills. As educators, we have the opportunity to help students gain these skills which are necessary to developing society.  Kids today come to us over-exposed to violence and other content beyond their maturity level. They don’t always know how to play imaginatively, and it can make us forget that they are still kids who enjoy being silly with their friends. Sometimes in my classroom, we play simple games like Heads Up Seven Up or Rock, Paper, Scissors, and students learn to cheer each other on, work strategically, and support their classmates. When we are able to then transfer these skills to academics, students grow to love learning and will continue to learn throughout their lives. Students who feel connected to and supported by their classmates and teacher are also more willing to take risks and push themselves to try new things. 

Over the last twenty-six years, I’ve developed many lasting relationships with students and their families.  When I run into them or hear from them, they never say, “You were the best teacher because you helped me learn to subtract with regrouping or infer how a character feels by their actions.” The words they say are always similar to these: You believed in me; you always told me that one day my hard work would pay off, and it has; You taught me it was okay fail as long as I kept trying; You helped my child develop friendships when they weren’t able to do that on their own; you gave my child a solo in the musical, and he still talks about that today; You were always funny; Sometimes you were tough on me, and I needed that.  So I have to believe this is the most important part of teaching - instilling confidence, expecting their best, believing in them, teaching them to get along, and letting them enjoy the process of learning.