As you may have heard at Community Time, changes are being made to the St. Joe tradition of Teacher of the Month. It has just recently become known as Teacher of the Quarter instead. This tradition is a way to acknowledge all the hard work teachers put into their daily lessons to teach students, and for us, as students, to thank them. Mrs. Landherr from the Teacher of the Quarter Committee says the change was to make the process easier for the people nominating, the nominees, and the committee that makes this tradition possible.
“Toward the end of the school year after 5-6 rounds of Teachers of the Month, we would get less and less nominations. So the ultimate goal was to have the most nominations possible each round for us to choose a winner, and so we are trying out Teacher of the Quarter. So far it seems to have worked because we got 83 nominations for this quarter’s award. That’s a record,” Mrs. Landherr said.
While students are not required to nominate these teachers, it is a great way for teachers to get the recognition they deserve. We often do not realize just how much work and effort teachers put into making sure students learn and understand the material in a way that makes sense for everyone.
“Teachers are people just like anyone else doing any other job. We have families and lives to live outside of our jobs, too. Having said that, the demands of our job are very different from others. You would be shocked to truly know the amount of investment that teachers put into their students. Recognizing this 4 times a year is the least we can all do,” Mrs. Landherr said.
Do these teachers get anything for this besides recognition? They do! Even without winning, teachers who are nominated receive these nominations so they can know that the work they put into each lesson is valued and appreciated.
“So, even if the teacher doesn’t win, they get to see how impactful their lesson, activity, or class was. It’s a nice reminder that the hard work is worth it,” Mrs. Landherr said.
Additionally, the winning teacher from all these nominations receives a parking lot in the front circle and a plaque for their classroom.
Ms. Moshi, an English teacher and past winner, mentioned what it was like for her to win.
“It’s nice when students are like ‘Hey, I really like this lesson you did’ or something like that,” Ms. Moshi said.
So, even though the chance for the first quarter has ended and the teacher has been announced, please remember to nominate your favorite teacher for next quarter. St. Joe cannot wait to see who the upcoming Teachers of the Quarter will be.
