November 6, 2024 • 24 mins
Cobb County School District's Teacher of the Year, Karen Wright, shares her inspiring journey and insights into what makes a great teacher. With over 27 years of experience in education, Karen highlights the importance of building genuine connections with students and understanding their world to foster engagement. She discusses her unique path from interior design to teaching, driven by a family influence that led her to find her true calling in the classroom. Throughout the conversation, Karen emphasizes the significance of teaching life skills to children, ensuring they feel capable and confident in their abilities. Listeners will gain valuable perspectives on effective teaching methods and the profound impact educators can have on their students' lives.
Chapters:
- 00:00 - Introduction to Teacher of the Year
- 00:04 - Celebrating Great Teaching
- 00:51 - Meet Karen Wright
- 01:20 - Karen's Journey to Teaching
- 04:34 - Becoming Cobb County Teacher of the Year
- 04:42 - The Excitement of Winning
- 08:13 - Pressure of Representation
- 16:25 - Key Insights for Parents
- 17:55 - Life Skills for Kids
- 22:13 - Cursive and Other Skills
- 23:33 - Conclusion and Acknowledgments
- 24:04 - Closing Remarks
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Each year, there's always alot of hoopla about our teacher of
the year.
What makes a great teacher isnext on the Inside Scoop.
Hello and welcome back.
I'm David Owen.
You can hear the Inside Scoopnow on iheart Podcasts as well as
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, andmany other podcast platforms, including
(00:21):
YouTube.
Just make sure you subscribeand turn on notifications so you
don't miss an episode whenit's published each Wednesday.
Cobb works hard each year tofind and keep great teachers Together
with the Cobb Chamber, we getto celebrate some of the best in
each of our schools.
But then we also celebrate thebest of the best at each level, elementary,
(00:43):
middle, and high.
Finally, one of those ischosen to represent all of our excellent
teachers we have in our district.
Today I'm joined by ourdistrict level teacher of the year,
Mrs.
Karen Wright.
Karen, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
This is a first.
Well, very briefly.
And you are not normally inthe spotlight, right?
(01:05):
That's a different life for you.
Yes, it is.
Tell us a little bit about whoyou are, where you came from, a little
bit about Karen Wright.
All right.
I grew up just outside of Chicago.
Been here since 1989.
Okay.
I started out school here andswitched gears kind of about two
and a half years into collegeand switched to education.
(01:29):
From what?
From interior design andarchitecture, of all things.
So there's a big backstory tothat one, but it revolves around
my aunt who was a teacher whosaid that she thought I would make
a great teacher.
And I really wasn't sure about that.
But here we are, proof thatshe was right.
So I have a family.
(01:50):
I have an almost 17 year oldson who goes to school at Etowah
High School in Cherokee County.
And that's okay.
We'll forget that.
Yeah.
Yes, I know, I know.
And my husband Daniel, who isthe outside operations manager at
one of the marinas on the lake.
Okay, very cool.
Very cool.
So we understand how you gotto the Atlanta area, but what inspired
(02:13):
you to become a teacher withCobb in particular?
In particular with Cobb.
My family lived in Cobb,although I was already out of high
school, so I really didn'thave a connection to Cobb schools.
But when I started at KennesawState, started into the education
curriculum and doing studentteaching, I ended up in Cobb county
(02:37):
schools doing my fieldexperience and my student teaching.
And so I got my feet wet thereand really enjoyed the school system
and the teachers and the leadership.
And it was the only place I applied.
So I was hired as a supplyteacher in.
At Murdoch elementary and wentfrom there.
(02:59):
Okay, and you've been here howmany years was that since?
89.
So 35.
That's a lot of years morethan I was in Chicago, so I'm probably
a native now.
So you've had lots of chancesto leave.
What has kept you here?
Well, I think I have always stayed.
I believe in loyalty.
I know that sounds reallystrange in these days and age.
(03:22):
I really do believe in loyaltyto places that have served you well,
and Cobb has served me well.
I have enjoyed the schoolsthat I've taught at.
I've had great leadership inthose schools and within the county.
I did at one point think ofleaving because, as I said, my son
is in Cherokee county and ourbreaks were different.
(03:43):
And so when he was younger,that was really a struggle.
Now that he's older, he goesoff with his friends and he just
got back from his break, andthen I went on mine.
So it's not as difficult now,but that would have been.
That was one of the reasons Ihad considered leaving, but I just
didn't want to.
It's a great place to teach.
(04:03):
We have wonderful teachers here.
We attract wonderful teachershere, and we have great leadership.
So I have just decided tostick it out.
Okay.
27 years.
Yeah, that's.
I was gonna say you're gettingclose to that 30 year mark.
27 years.
Not gonna retire anytime soon.
Not until least 30.
I'll have a son in college, sowe'll have to see how that goes.
(04:25):
Yeah, I can tell you it's nota fun time of life.
But anyway, that's a separate podcast.
So you recently.
I mean, this teacher of theyear thing wasn't that long ago that
you just found out that youwere teacher of the year.
Tell us about that day thatyou found that out.
So originally, as you had saidearlier in your opening, we found
(04:47):
out the three of us,elementary, middle and high school
that we had at our levels.
And so that was extremelyexciting and overwhelming in a whirlwind,
as we talked about earlier.
And then we got about 10 daysinto school, and our school does
something called house teams,similar to Harry Potter, where we
(05:09):
each have a color team.
And so the classes areassociated with a color, yellow,
red, green, or blue.
And every year we announcethat color for your classes.
And so we normally do this onthe blacktop with these cool popper
things, but apparently, quote,unquote, they were on back order.
And so we had everybody in thecafeteria for an assembly.
(05:34):
Our theme this year was or Ismake your mark believe.
And so our principal had amagician come for the kids beforehand
and before we announced ourcolor teams.
And at the end of that magicshow, he said, well, we have one
more magic trick, and openedup the curtains and there was Superintendent
(05:58):
Chris Ragsdale.
And at that point, I reallyknew what was going on.
And so, you know, the media isimmediately in your face and everybody's
at cameras and everybody'scheering and they whisk you up on
stage.
So it was a really, reallyexciting day and a bit overwhelming,
I could imagine.
So how did that make you feel?
So on the school level, you're selected.
(06:19):
You're nominated by a peer ortwo or three, whoever decides to
nominate you.
Then you're voted in by your school.
At that point, they ask youthis question.
Do you want to run for Cobbcounty teacher of the Year?
And I remember sitting in bookclub with my kids and my principal
coming over and asking me that question.
(06:40):
I was like, well, yeah, yeah, sure.
You know, And I move on.
Finished up with the book club.
And then you get theapplication and you get all these
emails stat, what you need to do.
And it's a very long andintense process of writing and videos.
And so after you.
I was selected as a finalist,and I had to do a video and sent
(07:02):
that in.
And then you waited all summer.
And so once you.
At pre planning is when theyannounced the levels.
And then again, two weeks intoschool, they announced teacher.
A Cobb county teacher of the year.
Okay, so you found out thatyou were the school teacher of the
year at the end of last schoolyear, April.
Okay.
Yeah.
Wow.
(07:23):
Tell us about that levelwinner day.
I didn't know that I had won.
Yeah.
So we were sitting in themedia center for the first day of
pre planning, and my back wasto the door, and my principal kept
looking at the door and keptlooking at the door and kept looking
at the door, and we're alllike, what is she doing?
What is going on?
(07:43):
And she made us wear ourschool shirts, which she never does.
And so all of a sudden shesays, and we have some special guests,
and in walks the entourage ofthe superintendent and the media
and my family.
And it was extremelyoverwhelming but extremely exciting
to finally kind of see wherethis had all landed.
(08:07):
So it just.
You had two big days ofrevelation to you.
Yes.
Not the least of which isrepresenting the entire district.
Do you feel that pressure?
You know, there is a little pressure.
There's a little pressure there.
You represent a great group of teachers.
I mean, like any other, I Do.
It is.
It does.
There is a little bit ofweight there that you feel just because,
(08:27):
you know, you go to yourclassroom every day and you do what
you do and you go home.
And now there's a lot.
There's a lot of activitiesgoing on.
A lot of people in myclassroom taking video, taking pictures,
interviewing me, interviewingkids, interviewing staff, which is
very exciting for everybody.
The kids.
I think the kids reaction tothem announcing this was probably
(08:51):
the most incredible part of itbecause they were so excited.
Tell me about.
I can't recall, did youmention what grade level you teach?
I teach fourth grade.
I teach fourth grade, so.
But the whole school was in,you know, all third, fourth, and
fifth grade were all in thecafeteria at the time, and they were
crying and they were shoutingand clapping.
I mean, it's really exciting.
(09:12):
Yeah, really exciting.
And there's that personalconnection with those students.
They feel like it's almost anaward to them.
That's right.
That's right.
So I know this is a long journey.
This lasts for a year, right?
Yes.
So it may be too soon to askyou what's been the most enjoyable
part.
I guess maybe you haven't hada chance really to.
(09:34):
Well, I will say that theupcoming month is about to be very
exciting because this is thefirst of a step.
Well, I would say last.
The week before break, theycame and filmed in my classroom.
That was really exciting forthe kids.
Interviewed me and colleagues,as I said.
And then you sent the emailand said, would you like to come
(09:56):
to our podcast?
Which I had never done before.
And I thought, well, that'sreally exciting.
So on the 8th of this month isthe handprint ceremony in Marietta
square.
On the 21st is the teacher ofthe Year pep rally.
And on the 4th, we get our cars.
Okay, that's.
That's the part that mostpeople would jump to.
(10:19):
But I mean, first, all thatstuff in between, of course, the
podcast being the most exciting.
It is.
It's the.
It's something I've never done before.
Okay, the car wins.
Let's just.
Let's go ahead and say the car wins.
But that.
That ceremony on the square ofthe hand ceremony, I mean, that I've
walked by that.
I'm sure a lot of.
A lot of other folks have, too.
(10:40):
And you see all these names ofteachers that you just can't imagine
how many students thoseteachers represent.
Right.
Yeah, it's a bit surreal.
So just cutting to the chase,the car, you know, he always says
it.
Our superintendent's a car guy.
Yeah.
Are you going to seek hisadvice for.
(11:03):
Well, my son and my husbandwould really like me to follow his
advice, but I'm a little moreof a practical girl myself.
And so, you know, I knowthere's a lot of choices going on
there.
It's funny, that Saturday night.
Well, I was watching theGeorgia game.
Yeah.
And sitting on the couch withmy husband, and we are looking at
(11:25):
the dealerships and thedifferent cars that are on there.
So, you know, it's really justgoing to boil down to when we get
there, what options we have.
And there's a lot of unknown,a lot of unanswered questions that
I have about how this works.
Yeah.
And that's a good point right there.
A lot of people don't know, somaybe I should explain.
Unless you'd like to.
Well, from what I understand,and I could be wrong on some of these
(11:49):
points, but at the Teacher ofthe year pep rally, each of us, the
middle school and high schooland elementary school level teachers,
choose out of a.
A bucket or a basket of adealership from Ed Voyles, who I
believe is a partner for CobbChamber of Commerce.
Absolutely.
And we then go to thedealership of.
(12:11):
That we have chosen and choosea car that we get to use for the
year of being Teacher of theyear for that level.
Exactly.
So that is very exciting.
And, you know, my husband'sand my son just can't even believe
it.
Like, they're so excited.
How do I get in on this?
That's right.
Actually, they kind of do.
They kind of do.
(12:32):
That's right.
So it's a free lease for anentire year.
Insurance is covered?
Yeah.
Oh, really?
I didn't know that part.
I think so, I'm pretty sure.
Are there any things that youcould say or lessons that you've
learned throughout your careerthat have helped you be a great teacher?
(12:52):
I think I'm a realist.
And that when you're teachingchildren, you need to be real, you
need to connect to those kids.
And I know that that's kind ofthe buzzword of build relationships,
but this goes back as early astime with teaching children.
The connections that you makewith kids mean something.
(13:13):
When they know that you care,they care.
Back there is a method or aphilosophy that I lived by for a
long, long time called thePrime Directive.
And it is theirs to ours andours to theirs.
And what that means is thatwhen we go into their world, into
(13:36):
the children's world, and welisten to them and we hear about
their.
The things that they'reInterested in the video games they
play, the language they speak,you know, all of these types of things
and we get to know them and wegenuinely show interest, then we
have taken ourselves and putourselves in their world.
(13:58):
So once they realize that weare invested in them, when we want
to bring them into our worldto teach them what we, the content
that we want to teach, they'remore likely to listen and be engaged
than if they think we don't care.
Yeah.
So just something that I'vealways lived by.
(14:20):
I really believe in connectionwith kids getting to know them, what
their interests are, like Isaid, their language.
My 17 year old, almost 17 yearold son often gives me the new list
of words and what they mean.
He's very generous.
Well, because I say, what doesthis mean?
Because I hear the kidstalking about it and if I don't know,
well, first of all, I need toknow what they're talking about.
(14:43):
But when I use those words inclass, kind of gives you a little
bit of street cred, you know,they, they say, well, okay, she's
interested.
I can't believe she used that word.
You know, and you use it correctly.
Okay, so that's the trick.
That's the trick.
You gotta use it correctly.
Otherwise they're like, ohgosh, she doesn't know what she's
talking about.
You know.
Well, I was gonna say, itbackfires with me.
I've got teenagers and theyjust look at me sideways.
(15:05):
I'm like, I didn't use it right.
Did they?
Did I?
And they, no, you didn't.
When they're talking abouttheir sports team or they're talking
about Pokemon.
I know I'm a fourth gradeteacher, so those are the kinds of
things I hear from kids or themusic that they listen.
And you genuinely can speaktheir speak, you know, and they are
(15:26):
sometimes dumbfounded by that.
You know, she really, shereally knows what she's talking about.
You shouldn't know this stuff.
You shouldn't know this stuff.
You know, and so I think thatwhen they do that they.
And when you share about yourself.
I share a lot about myself, alot about my childhood, a lot about
my own struggles, my own, youknow, issues growing up and the things
(15:46):
that I have been through in my life.
And when you do that, theywant to know more.
And so, so I try to integratesome of those little stories into
some of the things that I'm teaching.
And when I do, then they respond.
Switching gears just a little bit.
You have likely.
Well, I know you have dealtwith tons of parents along the way,
(16:07):
because you've dealt with tonsof students.
So is there a particular angleor an insight that you could provide
about what parents ofsuccessful students do differently?
I would say, first of all, wedo deal with a lot of different parenting
(16:31):
styles, but I think that themajority of parents just want what's
best for their kids.
They really do.
There's a lot of struggles inour world.
There's a lot.
We never know what somebody isgoing through in their life.
So I think that that is veryimportant to keep in mind when it
comes to parenting and what'sgoing on with kids and with their
(16:52):
families.
But I would say it is aboutlooking up, and I mean looking up
from your devices.
Put those devices down.
Parents are the worst, aren't they?
Well, we.
I am calling myself out aswell, because we are all addicted
(17:13):
to those devices, whether it'sfor work or for pleasure or to disconnect
or to connect.
But the kids are watching.
Our kids are always watching us.
They're modeling what we do.
So look up.
Put those devices down.
Talk to your kids every singlechance you get.
Point out what things are whatwhen they look at an object.
(17:37):
We see, I'm an ELA teacher,and we see with vocabulary that they
don't know what things are.
Point out everything.
Play board games with your kids.
Problem solve with your kids.
I used to do, and I haven'tdone it in a few years, but I used
to do a little program with myclass called Old School Skills.
And it was a list of 50 skillsthat I had kind of generated from
(18:01):
talking to friends and familyand the Internet that kids were lacking.
And some of these things werebig things like they can't change
a tire.
Some of these things wereletter writing or they don't know
how to load a dishwasher or dothe laundry or clean a bathroom.
So I made this list of, I'm.
(18:21):
Sorry, you're just hitting allthe checkboxes for my family.
So I made this list and I gaveit to the kids, and I said, I want
you to pick things off thislist that you want to learn.
And then I want you to find amentor, whether it's a parent, a
grandparent, a neighbor, anolder sibling, someone who can teach
you how to do these things.
And then I want you to find away to share that with our class
(18:45):
to show us that you've learnedit, that you've become proficient
at it.
And there were things on therelike change a tire or lift the hood
of the car.
And these are nine and tenyear olds.
I was going to say fourth grade.
But here's the thing.
If you don't show them, if youdon't start to point those things
out to them, they don't evenknow to ask.
(19:06):
They don't even know to say,well, how do you do that?
So teaching them to mow thelawn, to weed a garden, to plant
a garden, to sow, to iron.
I say if you, and this hasbeen on the Internet, people have
seen it before, but if you canfigure out how to turn on and set
up an Xbox, you can figure outthe washing machine.
(19:28):
It's not as fun.
It's not as fun, but unless you.
Like Tetris, that would make sense.
But learning those lifeskills, I think connecting with your
kids, using your car rides toand from practice, put the devices
away and talk to each other,look out the window, point at things,
discuss what happened atschool or what's going on, I think
(19:49):
those things need to come backas much as possible.
And I am as guilty as anybodyof, you know, scrolling away sometimes.
But we really do try in our household.
And I know I only have onechild, so it makes it a, you know,
I come from a family, ablended family of eight, so there
are a lot of us.
But putting those phones downand talking to each other and getting
(20:13):
outside, playing the games,cooking, doing those things, and
all of those things are learning.
So I think those are.
If I were going to giveparents a leg up for success, I would
say that is what you need to do.
Yeah.
And it's interesting becauseyou're not, you're not talking about
sitting at the table doingflashcards all day so they're proficient
at math or doing sight wordsor things like that.
(20:35):
These are, these are lifelesson things.
What impact do you think thatis making on the rest of the learning
process for your students?
Do you think that?
I think it's huge.
When they see that they can dothose things, they know that they
can do the rest of these.
They can do hard things.
Again, another one of thosethick quotes that we hear like you
(20:56):
can do hard things, but untilwe get them outside of the classroom
doing hard things, you know,sometimes when they're in there,
I can't do this.
I don't know how to do this.
Well, you don't know how to doit yet.
Another one, you know, youdon't know how to do it yet.
But I think it just gives themconfidence, it allows them to take
academic risks because theyfeel like, oh, it's okay if I don't
(21:19):
if I don't do this right thefirst time, I have a big key on my
wall that says failure leadsto success.
It goes along with eight keysthat I kind of live by within my
classroom and that I try topoint out to them every single day.
Even though you may not havedone well on this quiz, let's figure
out what it is and let's goback and reteach and try again.
(21:43):
But learning is not a onetime, one stop shop.
I always say when you.
You know those baseballplayers, I'm a big Braves fan.
Go Braves tonight.
Come on.
That when a baseball playergets to the plate, they don't hit
a home run.
The first time.
The first time they step up tothe plate, they have to pract over
and over and over again.
(22:04):
And that's what it takes foranything that these kids want to
learn.
That is incredible.
Now, I do have to ask this onevery crucial question.
Is cursive on your list of 50 things?
It is.
Is it really?
Actually, my kids in my classright now know how to write in cursive.
How old are you?
We started that on the firstday of school.
(22:24):
We started learning cursive,and they actually like.
Like that.
Yeah.
So, like, I think a lot oftimes we think that they don't want
to do it.
They wanted to learn.
Well, now it's kind of like asecret code, right?
It is kind of secret code, yes.
It's on the list.
Cursive is on the list.
Letter writing is on the list.
There's so many.
There are so many things onthat tie a tie.
(22:47):
Oh, that's huge.
Yeah.
And for some kids, it might beas simple as tying their shoes because
some of them, you know, wearthe Velcro and they don't know how
to tie their shoes.
So some of those things thatwe take for granted, that, you know,
we just know how to do it,some of those kids don't know how
to do.
So when they've learned that,we celebrate.
If it's worth learning, it'sworth celebrating.
So.
So would you be willing toshare that list with our listeners?
(23:10):
Yeah, sure.
Okay.
All right.
We got that recorded.
She's committed.
So we'll put that on as a linkin the show notes and our listeners
can make use of that.
Spread the love.
Yes.
Well, Karen, thank you so much.
We are so proud of ourteachers and to have you at the top
of the list there for thisyear, that's awesome.
(23:33):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for having me.
This was a really unique experience.
My son was like, oh, that'sreally cool, Mom.
I can't believe you get to doa podcast.
I can't believe I got to do a podcast.
So thank you so much forhaving me.
Well, it is so fun to show offour best.
And if you found this podcasthelpful, make sure you share it with
a friend.
They might find it helpful too.
(23:53):
Also, don't forget you need to subscribe.
Give us a like that helps withthe algorithms and spreading the
love.
And don't forget to turn onnotifications so you get the next
podcast episode.
Thank you for listening tothis edition of the Inside Scoop,
a podcast produced by the CobbCounty School District.
Each year, there's always alot of hoopla about our teacher of
the year.
What makes a great teacher isnext on the Inside Scoop.
Hello and welcome back.
I'm David Owen.
You can hear the Inside Scoopnow on iheart Podcasts as well as
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, andmany other podcast platforms, including
(00:21):
YouTube.
Just make sure you subscribeand turn on notifications so you
don't miss an episode whenit's published each Wednesday.
Cobb works hard each year tofind and keep great teachers Together
with the Cobb Chamber, we getto celebrate some of the best in
each of our schools.
But then we also celebrate thebest of the best at each level, elementary,
(00:43):
middle, and high.
Finally, one of those ischosen to represent all of our excellent
teachers we have in our district.
Today I'm joined by ourdistrict level teacher of the year,
Mrs.
Karen Wright.
Karen, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
This is a first.
Well, very briefly.
And you are not normally inthe spotlight, right?
(01:05):
That's a different life for you.
Yes, it is.
Tell us a little bit about whoyou are, where you came from, a little
bit about Karen Wright.
All right.
I grew up just outside of Chicago.
Been here since 1989.
Okay.
I started out school here andswitched gears kind of about two
and a half years into collegeand switched to education.
(01:29):
From what?
From interior design andarchitecture, of all things.
So there's a big backstory tothat one, but it revolves around
my aunt who was a teacher whosaid that she thought I would make
a great teacher.
And I really wasn't sure about that.
But here we are, proof thatshe was right.
So I have a family.
(01:50):
I have an almost 17 year oldson who goes to school at Etowah
High School in Cherokee County.
And that's okay.
We'll forget that.
Yeah.
Yes, I know, I know.
And my husband Daniel, who isthe outside operations manager at
one of the marinas on the lake.
Okay, very cool.
Very cool.
So we understand how you gotto the Atlanta area, but what inspired
(02:13):
you to become a teacher withCobb in particular?
In particular with Cobb.
My family lived in Cobb,although I was already out of high
school, so I really didn'thave a connection to Cobb schools.
But when I started at KennesawState, started into the education
curriculum and doing studentteaching, I ended up in Cobb county
(02:37):
schools doing my fieldexperience and my student teaching.
And so I got my feet wet thereand really enjoyed the school system
and the teachers and the leadership.
And it was the only place I applied.
So I was hired as a supplyteacher in.
At Murdoch elementary and wentfrom there.
(02:59):
Okay, and you've been here howmany years was that since?
89.
So 35.
That's a lot of years morethan I was in Chicago, so I'm probably
a native now.
So you've had lots of chancesto leave.
What has kept you here?
Well, I think I have always stayed.
I believe in loyalty.
I know that sounds reallystrange in these days and age.
(03:22):
I really do believe in loyaltyto places that have served you well,
and Cobb has served me well.
I have enjoyed the schoolsthat I've taught at.
I've had great leadership inthose schools and within the county.
I did at one point think ofleaving because, as I said, my son
is in Cherokee county and ourbreaks were different.
(03:43):
And so when he was younger,that was really a struggle.
Now that he's older, he goesoff with his friends and he just
got back from his break, andthen I went on mine.
So it's not as difficult now,but that would have been.
That was one of the reasons Ihad considered leaving, but I just
didn't want to.
It's a great place to teach.
(04:03):
We have wonderful teachers here.
We attract wonderful teachershere, and we have great leadership.
So I have just decided tostick it out.
Okay.
27 years.
Yeah, that's.
I was gonna say you're gettingclose to that 30 year mark.
27 years.
Not gonna retire anytime soon.
Not until least 30.
I'll have a son in college, sowe'll have to see how that goes.
(04:25):
Yeah, I can tell you it's nota fun time of life.
But anyway, that's a separate podcast.
So you recently.
I mean, this teacher of theyear thing wasn't that long ago that
you just found out that youwere teacher of the year.
Tell us about that day thatyou found that out.
So originally, as you had saidearlier in your opening, we found
(04:47):
out the three of us,elementary, middle and high school
that we had at our levels.
And so that was extremelyexciting and overwhelming in a whirlwind,
as we talked about earlier.
And then we got about 10 daysinto school, and our school does
something called house teams,similar to Harry Potter, where we
(05:09):
each have a color team.
And so the classes areassociated with a color, yellow,
red, green, or blue.
And every year we announcethat color for your classes.
And so we normally do this onthe blacktop with these cool popper
things, but apparently, quote,unquote, they were on back order.
And so we had everybody in thecafeteria for an assembly.
(05:34):
Our theme this year was or Ismake your mark believe.
And so our principal had amagician come for the kids beforehand
and before we announced ourcolor teams.
And at the end of that magicshow, he said, well, we have one
more magic trick, and openedup the curtains and there was Superintendent
(05:58):
Chris Ragsdale.
And at that point, I reallyknew what was going on.
And so, you know, the media isimmediately in your face and everybody's
at cameras and everybody'scheering and they whisk you up on
stage.
So it was a really, reallyexciting day and a bit overwhelming,
I could imagine.
So how did that make you feel?
So on the school level, you're selected.
(06:19):
You're nominated by a peer ortwo or three, whoever decides to
nominate you.
Then you're voted in by your school.
At that point, they ask youthis question.
Do you want to run for Cobbcounty teacher of the Year?
And I remember sitting in bookclub with my kids and my principal
coming over and asking me that question.
(06:40):
I was like, well, yeah, yeah, sure.
You know, And I move on.
Finished up with the book club.
And then you get theapplication and you get all these
emails stat, what you need to do.
And it's a very long andintense process of writing and videos.
And so after you.
I was selected as a finalist,and I had to do a video and sent
(07:02):
that in.
And then you waited all summer.
And so once you.
At pre planning is when theyannounced the levels.
And then again, two weeks intoschool, they announced teacher.
A Cobb county teacher of the year.
Okay, so you found out thatyou were the school teacher of the
year at the end of last schoolyear, April.
Okay.
Yeah.
Wow.
(07:23):
Tell us about that levelwinner day.
I didn't know that I had won.
Yeah.
So we were sitting in themedia center for the first day of
pre planning, and my back wasto the door, and my principal kept
looking at the door and keptlooking at the door and kept looking
at the door, and we're alllike, what is she doing?
What is going on?
(07:43):
And she made us wear ourschool shirts, which she never does.
And so all of a sudden shesays, and we have some special guests,
and in walks the entourage ofthe superintendent and the media
and my family.
And it was extremelyoverwhelming but extremely exciting
to finally kind of see wherethis had all landed.
(08:07):
So it just.
You had two big days ofrevelation to you.
Yes.
Not the least of which isrepresenting the entire district.
Do you feel that pressure?
You know, there is a little pressure.
There's a little pressure there.
You represent a great group of teachers.
I mean, like any other, I Do.
It is.
It does.
There is a little bit ofweight there that you feel just because,
(08:27):
you know, you go to yourclassroom every day and you do what
you do and you go home.
And now there's a lot.
There's a lot of activitiesgoing on.
A lot of people in myclassroom taking video, taking pictures,
interviewing me, interviewingkids, interviewing staff, which is
very exciting for everybody.
The kids.
I think the kids reaction tothem announcing this was probably
(08:51):
the most incredible part of itbecause they were so excited.
Tell me about.
I can't recall, did youmention what grade level you teach?
I teach fourth grade.
I teach fourth grade, so.
But the whole school was in,you know, all third, fourth, and
fifth grade were all in thecafeteria at the time, and they were
crying and they were shoutingand clapping.
I mean, it's really exciting.
(09:12):
Yeah, really exciting.
And there's that personalconnection with those students.
They feel like it's almost anaward to them.
That's right.
That's right.
So I know this is a long journey.
This lasts for a year, right?
Yes.
So it may be too soon to askyou what's been the most enjoyable
part.
I guess maybe you haven't hada chance really to.
(09:34):
Well, I will say that theupcoming month is about to be very
exciting because this is thefirst of a step.
Well, I would say last.
The week before break, theycame and filmed in my classroom.
That was really exciting forthe kids.
Interviewed me and colleagues,as I said.
And then you sent the emailand said, would you like to come
(09:56):
to our podcast?
Which I had never done before.
And I thought, well, that'sreally exciting.
So on the 8th of this month isthe handprint ceremony in Marietta
square.
On the 21st is the teacher ofthe Year pep rally.
And on the 4th, we get our cars.
Okay, that's.
That's the part that mostpeople would jump to.
(10:19):
But I mean, first, all thatstuff in between, of course, the
podcast being the most exciting.
It is.
It's the.
It's something I've never done before.
Okay, the car wins.
Let's just.
Let's go ahead and say the car wins.
But that.
That ceremony on the square ofthe hand ceremony, I mean, that I've
walked by that.
I'm sure a lot of.
A lot of other folks have, too.
(10:40):
And you see all these names ofteachers that you just can't imagine
how many students thoseteachers represent.
Right.
Yeah, it's a bit surreal.
So just cutting to the chase,the car, you know, he always says
it.
Our superintendent's a car guy.
Yeah.
Are you going to seek hisadvice for.
(11:03):
Well, my son and my husbandwould really like me to follow his
advice, but I'm a little moreof a practical girl myself.
And so, you know, I knowthere's a lot of choices going on
there.
It's funny, that Saturday night.
Well, I was watching theGeorgia game.
Yeah.
And sitting on the couch withmy husband, and we are looking at
(11:25):
the dealerships and thedifferent cars that are on there.
So, you know, it's really justgoing to boil down to when we get
there, what options we have.
And there's a lot of unknown,a lot of unanswered questions that
I have about how this works.
Yeah.
And that's a good point right there.
A lot of people don't know, somaybe I should explain.
Unless you'd like to.
Well, from what I understand,and I could be wrong on some of these
(11:49):
points, but at the Teacher ofthe year pep rally, each of us, the
middle school and high schooland elementary school level teachers,
choose out of a.
A bucket or a basket of adealership from Ed Voyles, who I
believe is a partner for CobbChamber of Commerce.
Absolutely.
And we then go to thedealership of.
(12:11):
That we have chosen and choosea car that we get to use for the
year of being Teacher of theyear for that level.
Exactly.
So that is very exciting.
And, you know, my husband'sand my son just can't even believe
it.
Like, they're so excited.
How do I get in on this?
That's right.
Actually, they kind of do.
They kind of do.
(12:32):
That's right.
So it's a free lease for anentire year.
Insurance is covered?
Yeah.
Oh, really?
I didn't know that part.
I think so, I'm pretty sure.
Are there any things that youcould say or lessons that you've
learned throughout your careerthat have helped you be a great teacher?
(12:52):
I think I'm a realist.
And that when you're teachingchildren, you need to be real, you
need to connect to those kids.
And I know that that's kind ofthe buzzword of build relationships,
but this goes back as early astime with teaching children.
The connections that you makewith kids mean something.
(13:13):
When they know that you care,they care.
Back there is a method or aphilosophy that I lived by for a
long, long time called thePrime Directive.
And it is theirs to ours andours to theirs.
And what that means is thatwhen we go into their world, into
(13:36):
the children's world, and welisten to them and we hear about
their.
The things that they'reInterested in the video games they
play, the language they speak,you know, all of these types of things
and we get to know them and wegenuinely show interest, then we
have taken ourselves and putourselves in their world.
(13:58):
So once they realize that weare invested in them, when we want
to bring them into our worldto teach them what we, the content
that we want to teach, they'remore likely to listen and be engaged
than if they think we don't care.
Yeah.
So just something that I'vealways lived by.
(14:20):
I really believe in connectionwith kids getting to know them, what
their interests are, like Isaid, their language.
My 17 year old, almost 17 yearold son often gives me the new list
of words and what they mean.
He's very generous.
Well, because I say, what doesthis mean?
Because I hear the kidstalking about it and if I don't know,
well, first of all, I need toknow what they're talking about.
(14:43):
But when I use those words inclass, kind of gives you a little
bit of street cred, you know,they, they say, well, okay, she's
interested.
I can't believe she used that word.
You know, and you use it correctly.
Okay, so that's the trick.
That's the trick.
You gotta use it correctly.
Otherwise they're like, ohgosh, she doesn't know what she's
talking about.
You know.
Well, I was gonna say, itbackfires with me.
I've got teenagers and theyjust look at me sideways.
(15:05):
I'm like, I didn't use it right.
Did they?
Did I?
And they, no, you didn't.
When they're talking abouttheir sports team or they're talking
about Pokemon.
I know I'm a fourth gradeteacher, so those are the kinds of
things I hear from kids or themusic that they listen.
And you genuinely can speaktheir speak, you know, and they are
(15:26):
sometimes dumbfounded by that.
You know, she really, shereally knows what she's talking about.
You shouldn't know this stuff.
You shouldn't know this stuff.
You know, and so I think thatwhen they do that they.
And when you share about yourself.
I share a lot about myself, alot about my childhood, a lot about
my own struggles, my own, youknow, issues growing up and the things
(15:46):
that I have been through in my life.
And when you do that, theywant to know more.
And so, so I try to integratesome of those little stories into
some of the things that I'm teaching.
And when I do, then they respond.
Switching gears just a little bit.
You have likely.
Well, I know you have dealtwith tons of parents along the way,
(16:07):
because you've dealt with tonsof students.
So is there a particular angleor an insight that you could provide
about what parents ofsuccessful students do differently?
I would say, first of all, wedo deal with a lot of different parenting
(16:31):
styles, but I think that themajority of parents just want what's
best for their kids.
They really do.
There's a lot of struggles inour world.
There's a lot.
We never know what somebody isgoing through in their life.
So I think that that is veryimportant to keep in mind when it
comes to parenting and what'sgoing on with kids and with their
(16:52):
families.
But I would say it is aboutlooking up, and I mean looking up
from your devices.
Put those devices down.
Parents are the worst, aren't they?
Well, we.
I am calling myself out aswell, because we are all addicted
(17:13):
to those devices, whether it'sfor work or for pleasure or to disconnect
or to connect.
But the kids are watching.
Our kids are always watching us.
They're modeling what we do.
So look up.
Put those devices down.
Talk to your kids every singlechance you get.
Point out what things are whatwhen they look at an object.
(17:37):
We see, I'm an ELA teacher,and we see with vocabulary that they
don't know what things are.
Point out everything.
Play board games with your kids.
Problem solve with your kids.
I used to do, and I haven'tdone it in a few years, but I used
to do a little program with myclass called Old School Skills.
And it was a list of 50 skillsthat I had kind of generated from
(18:01):
talking to friends and familyand the Internet that kids were lacking.
And some of these things werebig things like they can't change
a tire.
Some of these things wereletter writing or they don't know
how to load a dishwasher or dothe laundry or clean a bathroom.
So I made this list of, I'm.
(18:21):
Sorry, you're just hitting allthe checkboxes for my family.
So I made this list and I gaveit to the kids, and I said, I want
you to pick things off thislist that you want to learn.
And then I want you to find amentor, whether it's a parent, a
grandparent, a neighbor, anolder sibling, someone who can teach
you how to do these things.
And then I want you to find away to share that with our class
(18:45):
to show us that you've learnedit, that you've become proficient
at it.
And there were things on therelike change a tire or lift the hood
of the car.
And these are nine and tenyear olds.
I was going to say fourth grade.
But here's the thing.
If you don't show them, if youdon't start to point those things
out to them, they don't evenknow to ask.
(19:06):
They don't even know to say,well, how do you do that?
So teaching them to mow thelawn, to weed a garden, to plant
a garden, to sow, to iron.
I say if you, and this hasbeen on the Internet, people have
seen it before, but if you canfigure out how to turn on and set
up an Xbox, you can figure outthe washing machine.
(19:28):
It's not as fun.
It's not as fun, but unless you.
Like Tetris, that would make sense.
But learning those lifeskills, I think connecting with your
kids, using your car rides toand from practice, put the devices
away and talk to each other,look out the window, point at things,
discuss what happened atschool or what's going on, I think
(19:49):
those things need to come backas much as possible.
And I am as guilty as anybodyof, you know, scrolling away sometimes.
But we really do try in our household.
And I know I only have onechild, so it makes it a, you know,
I come from a family, ablended family of eight, so there
are a lot of us.
But putting those phones downand talking to each other and getting
(20:13):
outside, playing the games,cooking, doing those things, and
all of those things are learning.
So I think those are.
If I were going to giveparents a leg up for success, I would
say that is what you need to do.
Yeah.
And it's interesting becauseyou're not, you're not talking about
sitting at the table doingflashcards all day so they're proficient
at math or doing sight wordsor things like that.
(20:35):
These are, these are lifelesson things.
What impact do you think thatis making on the rest of the learning
process for your students?
Do you think that?
I think it's huge.
When they see that they can dothose things, they know that they
can do the rest of these.
They can do hard things.
Again, another one of thosethick quotes that we hear like you
(20:56):
can do hard things, but untilwe get them outside of the classroom
doing hard things, you know,sometimes when they're in there,
I can't do this.
I don't know how to do this.
Well, you don't know how to doit yet.
Another one, you know, youdon't know how to do it yet.
But I think it just gives themconfidence, it allows them to take
academic risks because theyfeel like, oh, it's okay if I don't
(21:19):
if I don't do this right thefirst time, I have a big key on my
wall that says failure leadsto success.
It goes along with eight keysthat I kind of live by within my
classroom and that I try topoint out to them every single day.
Even though you may not havedone well on this quiz, let's figure
out what it is and let's goback and reteach and try again.
(21:43):
But learning is not a onetime, one stop shop.
I always say when you.
You know those baseballplayers, I'm a big Braves fan.
Go Braves tonight.
Come on.
That when a baseball playergets to the plate, they don't hit
a home run.
The first time.
The first time they step up tothe plate, they have to pract over
and over and over again.
(22:04):
And that's what it takes foranything that these kids want to
learn.
That is incredible.
Now, I do have to ask this onevery crucial question.
Is cursive on your list of 50 things?
It is.
Is it really?
Actually, my kids in my classright now know how to write in cursive.
How old are you?
We started that on the firstday of school.
(22:24):
We started learning cursive,and they actually like.
Like that.
Yeah.
So, like, I think a lot oftimes we think that they don't want
to do it.
They wanted to learn.
Well, now it's kind of like asecret code, right?
It is kind of secret code, yes.
It's on the list.
Cursive is on the list.
Letter writing is on the list.
There's so many.
There are so many things onthat tie a tie.
(22:47):
Oh, that's huge.
Yeah.
And for some kids, it might beas simple as tying their shoes because
some of them, you know, wearthe Velcro and they don't know how
to tie their shoes.
So some of those things thatwe take for granted, that, you know,
we just know how to do it,some of those kids don't know how
to do.
So when they've learned that,we celebrate.
If it's worth learning, it'sworth celebrating.
So.
So would you be willing toshare that list with our listeners?
(23:10):
Yeah, sure.
Okay.
All right.
We got that recorded.
She's committed.
So we'll put that on as a linkin the show notes and our listeners
can make use of that.
Spread the love.
Yes.
Well, Karen, thank you so much.
We are so proud of ourteachers and to have you at the top
of the list there for thisyear, that's awesome.
(23:33):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for having me.
This was a really unique experience.
My son was like, oh, that'sreally cool, Mom.
I can't believe you get to doa podcast.
I can't believe I got to do a podcast.
So thank you so much forhaving me.
Well, it is so fun to show offour best.
And if you found this podcasthelpful, make sure you share it with
a friend.
They might find it helpful too.
(23:53):
Also, don't forget you need to subscribe.
Give us a like that helps withthe algorithms and spreading the
love.
And don't forget to turn onnotifications so you get the next
podcast episode.
Thank you for listening tothis edition of the Inside Scoop,
a podcast produced by the CobbCounty School District.
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