Trio Continue Quest for State Teaching Honors

Juliann Bliese, Ravenwood Elementary School
Emporia State University Master Teacher nominee

Teaching is never boring, and it's a learning experience for both teacher and student, according to Bliese, a first-grade teacher.

Her advice for a new teacher would be that teaching isn't easy, but it is a wonderful career. She also says teachers should be able to laugh at themselves and keep trying even when the job is difficult. And they should ask for help from everyone: students, teachers, parents and support staff.

"It's a way of touching the world," she said. "You learn so much. They learn from me, but I also learn from them.

"You have to really love it. I would do it again (become a teacher) in a heartbeat."

In her classroom, Bliese blends the curriculum and what is important to the individual children to help them learn. She believes her greatest accomplishment as an educator is connecting with students and helping children learn. Often this involves music and movement.

"We sing every day," she said. "We learn a lot through singing. Movement and music are really important for students to be physically engaged and connected with what's happening. Students can learn a lot while they're singing, moving and exploring."

Maria Fotopoulos, Heatherstone Elementary School
Kansas Teacher of the Year (elementary) nominee

This third-grade teacher would like each of her students to earn an "E" grade (excellent) for doing their best in class.

"Everybody wants an A grade, but I ask 'Did you do your best?'" Fotopoulos said. "That's what I always look for in my students; I look at their effort."

She considers her greatest accomplishment the year she taught second grade in New York City public schools. Unfortunately none of her students had a solid educational foundation after leaving first grade, so she needed to start by teaching them letters and sounds. By the end of the year, she had brought them up to the academic level of other second-graders.

The key is to know the students, she said.

"Create a bond that makes them want to produce for you," she said. "When I get an email from a parent that says, 'I don't know what you did, but my child loves school this year,' I've reached my goal. That makes me feel like I accomplished what I set out to do."

Anna-Lynn Morris, Olathe Northwest High School
Kansas Teacher of the Year (secondary) nominee

The teacher-student relationship must go beyond the classroom, according to this e-Communication video instructor.

"A student's not going to learn well unless he has support well beyond the bricks and mortar of your classroom," Morris said. "In order to be effective you have to be involved well beyond the actual school building."

She believes an extra investment of time helped many of her students who were struggling in the educational system.

"My greatest accomplishment as a teacher is a list of names of students I worked with who, I'm pretty sure, were headed down a path of destruction," she said. "I can name several who are in college now, doing things with their lives that are productive and meaningful. I saw extreme value in them. It makes teaching worth it."

Her approach to teaching is the same as her approach to life: ask questions, find answers, continue learning.

"It's about finding ways to challenge my students and myself on a regular basis," she said. "If you are a lifelong learner you will be a good teacher."