Last Tuesday,
I Changed The World
“What do you teach?” is more difficult to answer
than you might think
Lyon Terry, 2015 Washington State Teacher of the Year
Seattle Public Schools | Lawton Elementary School
P
eople always ask, “What do you teach?”
The answer to this is difficult because I
teach everything. Let me tell about last
Tuesday, a fairly typical day.
Last Tuesday, I arrived early to get ahead in my
planning. My colleague Mike rolled in after me.
He has been biking through the halls of Lawton
for 25 years. He stopped on Tuesday. “Hey
Lyon, what lesson are you on in the new math
curriculum?” he asked.
The new math curriculum, the third one in 10
years, has different terminology than the last.
We are still developing our understanding of
how best to teach it. So we talked for a while,
agreed on a strategy for instructing the 5thgrade estimation method, and discussed the
best resources for teaching place value with the
new materials.
What do I teach? I don’t teach.
I collaborate.
Last Tuesday, I worked with the 5th-grade
safety patrol as they helped kids exit cars and
walk to the playground safely. Karen opened
a car door for a kindergarten boy who had a
backpack in one hand and a coat in the other.
She leaned in, politely told the driver to “Have
a nice day!” and turned to the younger student
as his parent drove away.
“You can help
him. It is what
nice people do,” I
reminded her.
She held out his
coat while his
arms slid through
the armholes. She
lifted the backpack
onto his small
shoulders. “Please
walk, and don’t
forget to use the crosswalk,” Karen reminded
with a smile.
The young boy smiled back as he headed to the
crosswalk feeling welcomed.
What do I teach? I teach kindness.
Last Tuesday, like every day, I shook hands with
every student as they entered my classroom.
“Good morning. How are you?” “Is that a new
sweater?” “Go Cougs!” “How was the soccer
game?”
Each and every student looked me in the
eye, shook my hand, and engaged in a brief
conversation. I know my students. I respect
them as individuals.
What do I teach? I teach respect.
Teacher of the Year biographies: bit.ly/2015ToY
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