Dec 19-Jan 20 Advisor

HONORING

DECEMBER 2019 – JANUARY 2020 CEA ADVISOR 9

TEACHERS HONORED FOR COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE, AND TO CHILDREN Connecticut salutes 2020 Teachers of the Year

“My students—they are the reason I get up every day,” said 2020 Connecticut Teacher of the Year Meghan Hatch-Geary. “They are at resilience and determination and passion and a thirst for lifelong learning. It requires excellence and intellect. It requires cooperation and collaboration. It requires an open mind, a thick skin, and a steadfast belief that diversity is our strength and that our youth are our greatest resource. To quote one of my heroines, Malala Yousafzai, ‘One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world.’ I believe that.” At a December 4 ceremony at The Bushnell Center for Performing Arts, Hatch-Geary and more than 100 district-level teachers of the year—including 13 state semifinalists and three finalists—earned high accolades for excellence in education. “I am so pleased to be here on a night that honors our Connecticut teachers—not only those who have distinguished themselves as teachers of the year, but all the many thousands across the state who work hard every day to build bridges, make meaningful connections, and educate the whole child,” said CEA President Jeff Leake. Windsor teacher and TOY finalist Marquis Johnson described the honor as “an opportunity to reflect on teaching and the impact we make, and to highlight the good that we do in the world.” “This is such a culmination as well as a beginning of moments I will cherish and that will propel me to do more,” added fellow finalist Erin Pinsky, a social studies teacher at Redding’s Joel Barlow High School. Teachers make it happen Governor Ned Lamont greeted teacher honorees, friends, and family members, noting that the awards ceremony provides an opportunity to celebrate not only the many outstanding teachers in the room but all of Connecticut’s dedicated teachers, who work to help children learn, grow, and prepare for the future. He emphasized that meeting the individual needs of students every day is challenging work with a direct and lasting impact, and he thanked the heart of everything I do. Teaching is hard. It requires teachers for their unparalleled professionalism, dedication to children, and commitment to excellence. 2013 Connecticut TOY Blaise Messinger, the evening’s emcee, noted that before the auditorium filled up, the cavernous room in which he stood was quiet and empty—much like every classroom in those last days of summer, when the only person

there is the teacher preparing for the year ahead. “To you,”

Messinger said, “that empty space is full of promise. You create a hub of learning that energizes, enriches, and infuses the lives of your students. You make your classroom the room where it happens.” Echoing Messinger’s sentiments, State Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Miguel Cardona noted that Connecticut teachers “lift everyone up in their communities and inspire students to do the same.” “Look anywhere— English, history, fine arts, tech ed, sociology, forensics—and you’ll find incredible teachers and incredible students partnering in the learning experience,” Hatch-Geary said. “This honor I am receiving doesn’t mean I’m the best teacher but the person right now who represents all the wonderful things happening in our public schools and who will advocate for public education. We are all in this together; diversity is our strength, and every student needs you. I know that every teacher here tonight has been the best teacher to any number of students. The best fill this room.” With declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs, she added, one of her roles as Connecticut Teacher of the Year is to encourage talented and diverse people to join the teaching ranks. “I want to tell these aspiring teachers how much I love my job, how rewarding it is to work with young people; I want them to know how meaningful this work can be. I want to tell them that yes, the work is incredibly hard, but it is the best and most important job in the world. In this day and age, however, that can be a hard sell—a heavy lift. Mark Twain wrote that ‘out of the public schools grows the greatness of the nation,’ but we know that much has been done to malign and undermine public education and educators. “Look at what happened in Chicago last month, or in places like North Carolina and Arizona last year. According to The Washington Post , ‘Teacher strikes made 2018 the biggest year for worker protest in a generation.’ But teaching can be and

Pictured (L-R) are TOY finalists and semifinalists Erin Pinsky (Region 9), John Martin (Wethersfield), CEA President Jeff Leake, Katherine Wood (Gilbert School), Lisa Romano (Waterbury), Marquis Johnson (Windsor), Meghan Hatch-Geary (Region 16), Geralyn Nelson (East Haven), CEA Vice President Tom Nicholas, Kathryn Dal Zin (Wallingford), Kim Lowell (Newtown), Susan Mollica (Simsbury), Crystal Kitselman (Greenwich), Lynne Bridge (Tolland), Marcy Deschaine (Bristol), Tara O’Neill (Meriden), Jennifer Stanish (West Hartford), and Emily Lisy (Clinton).

essay in Education Week by John Waldron, who argues that ‘teaching is a political act that affects everyone, and therefore we must advocate for our students while also preparing them to be responsibly engaged participants in their democracy.’ I could not agree more. In this day and age, there is no such thing as an apolitial classroom. Neutrality too often supports oppression, and teachers again have the responsibility of teaching that important lesson to our students. To do that we must help our students sift through seas of information and misinformation and avoid false equivalencies and oversimplification. We must be engaged and well-read; we must step outside of our comfort zone and learn new things; we must be good citizens and empathetic human beings who exemplify our nation’s core democratic values. And in order to do this well, educators must recognize and confront our own implicit biases. Everyone has them. When we fail to acknowledge this truth, we stall the conversation, silence the questions, choke the growth. Teaching tolerance is no longer enough.” The year ahead Among the work that lies ahead of Hatch-Geary this year is helping address the problem of a teaching workforce that does not reflect the racial and cultural diversity of this state and partnering with other professionals and youth representatives to write a new statewide curriculum for Black and Latino history. All 2020 TOY finalists, semifinalists, and district-level

should be the best and most respected profession in this country, and public education is the bedrock of a healthy and equitable democracy. So we have to fight for it, and we have to improve it. If we want things to be different, we have to build a stronger culture around education.” In it together Doing that, she said, requires support from administrators, legislators, parents, and community partners. “Our kids are really struggling at unprecedented levels, and there are many factors that contribute to this. Teachers and schools need more investments from and collaboration with other partners to improve our students’ social, emotional, and mental health.” When teachers are supported, she said, they are better able to serve their students. A key source of support for teachers in Connecticut, she said, is their union. “Unions fight for things that teachers and their students need and deserve, things that could otherwise be cut at any economic downturn. They protect teachers, provide a fair system of due process to address concerns and grievances, and ultimately work to strengthen and improve public education overall. I believe unions are a fundamental part of American democracy and are essential to ensuring fairness and a voice for teachers.” Strengthening the profession and public education, she added, requires a recognition that teaching is incontrovertibly political. “Over the summer, I read an

teachers of the year will be recognized at numerous events over the coming year and will receive professional development and leadership opportunities that will further enrich their impact on students and colleagues.

More than 100 teachers are honored for excellence in education.