Never, never give up

We continue the series of profiles with a glance at Tammy Pardue, a first-grade teacher at Mt. Juliet’s Springdale Elementary School …

Name: Tammy Pardue

School: Springdale Elemnetary

Age: 53

Grade: First grade

How long have you been in education? 18 years

How many years have you taught at your current school? Five years (since it opened). This is my second time to receive teacher of the year in Wilson County, and I am humbled and honored.

What other schools have you taught at prior to your current school? Sam Houston Elementary and Stoner Creek Elementary

What is something unique about you — whether it’s a hobby, skill or past accomplishment — that most people likely wouldn’t be aware of? I love visiting our national parks. I have made a goal to visit as many of our beautiful parks as I can in my lifetime.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time (hobbies, etc.)? Hiking, camping, and spending time with my family

How would you describe your teaching style? A few years ago, I was at a teaching conference, and the presenter said, “Shut your door, teach what your students need, and they will succeed.” I hold that principle, especially in the last two years. I can’t control what goes on outside our classrooms in our students’ lives. I can’t control what decisions the state or school board decides, but I can shut my door and create a loving, safe environment where my students can grow, learn, and succeed.

Could you share a couple of strategies for how that you keep students engaged and motivated? My class motto is never, never give up. I have a sign with that saying on it that has been hanging in my classroom every year I have taught. At the beginning of the year, I tell my students that they will encounter struggles and frustrations in their learning, but together, we will never give up. I encourage my students whenever they are frustrated to get up, go hit the sign, and say it aloud ... “I never, never give up.” This is a physical reminder to them that they can succeed. I hang that sign in my classroom, and then the students take one home to hang as a reminder to them. I have had students and parents that have come back and told me that sign still hangs in their teenager’s bedroom as a reminder to them, many years later, of the lessons that they learned in first grade.

Have you ever encountered a challenge in teaching that required you to rethink your teaching methods and/or approach? I think every time you stand in front of a group of students to teach that you learn. A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning in their students. To do that, a teacher must continue to learn and grow throughout their career. Every year, I challenge myself to read the most recent research, look for better strategies to help my students learn, and hunt for new ways to inspire and challenge each of them. I think that is why retaining teachers in our county is so important. Every year you add tricks to your bag that will help your students in different ways. It takes time and experience to be able to meet the needs of all the diverse challenges we now face in our classrooms each year.

What is different, unique and/or enjoyable about the school that you are currently teaching at? Springdale is celebrating its fifth birthday this year. In those five years, we have been able to build from the ground up a unique school family among our students, parents, and administrations. We have a school-wide pledge that Panthers are respectful, responsible, and safe. The entire staff, from the janitor, school secretary, educational assistants, cafeteria team, educators, to our amazing administrators all work together to make sure our students work hard every day to be respectful, responsible and safe. When you build those characteristics as your foundation, all the students are able to learn and perform at their best ability.

Why did you choose teaching as a career path? I chose teaching because I watched my mom help and change so many lives in her career as a teacher. I wanted to also make that impact on students.

What is the most fulfilling part of teaching? My passion in teaching is helping students learn to read. I have heard people say, “Oh, you teach the little students. You are just a glorified babysitter.” This statement is so inaccurate and discouraging. Teaching someone to read is a difficult process. Most adults don’t remember how they learned to read, because it becomes so automatic, but at some point, every person that can read had to have a teacher that was there to walk them through the process. As a first-grade teacher, I see them move from identifying letters and sounds to the moment when they realize that on their own they were able to read their first book. That moment, when they have struggled and worked all year to learn to read, and they realize that they can read is priceless.

What is the most challenging part of teaching? When I started teaching in 1990, the challenges of teaching were updating buildings, getting parents involved and getting supplies that we needed. The challenges now as a teacher in 2022 are mostly things outside the classroom. The demands from the state, the high expectations on testing, the attitudes from parents and our community are challenges now that every teacher faces. Teachers now spend hours outside of the classroom trying to meet all these challenges.

How have you seen the profession change over the course of your career, and how do you see it continuing to evolve going forward? I see so many exciting changes in our profession. Scientific research in the last 20 years has taught us better ways to teach our students to read. That research is slowly being introduced in our schools, and it is making a difference.

If there was any one variable that you could control or enhance to help with the educational process, what would that be and why? I believe we spend too much time assessing our young students. Assessments are important to understand what a student needs, but we are spending too much valuable instructional time on giving those assessments. We need to focus on assessments that give educators valuable information on how to help our students. We need to not focus on testing our young elementary students with assessments that give us information that is not useful to educators and does not benefit our students learning.

Who is somebody who has been especially impactful in your teaching career, and why did he/she make such an impact on you? My teammate and co-teacher, Mrs. Desiree Gilbert, has taught either in the same classroom or across the hall for me for the past 11 years. I mentored Mrs. Gilbert her first year of teaching, and from then on, the two of us have taught first grade together. Every teacher needs a co-worker that can be there for them to celebrate the successes and to cry on their shoulders on the hard days. Teaching is a difficult job, and it is something that you can’t do alone. Teachers need to rely on each other for support, to improve their teaching skills, to challenge each other and to help them be the best professionals they can be.

Could you share what has been one of your most memorable moments in teaching? There is not one moment that stands out, but there are millions of moments that I will always treasure. It’s the small moments, watching a student read for the first time, helping them learn to tie their shoes, taking toilet paper to a student’s home during COVID when they didn’t have any, holding a crying child the first time we had a storm at school after the tornado had ripped open their home, watching their eyes light up when they see a caterpillar turn into a butterfly, the thousands of knock-knock jokes that they can’t wait to tell you, reading a story to them that makes them laugh … all those moments add up to a career that I will always be honored I was able to experience. Albert Schweitzer said, “Success is not the key to happiness, but happiness is the key to success.” I feel successful as a professional teacher, because my career continually gives me happiness.