Starnes named 2018 Greenwood District 50 Teacher of the Year
Lee Ann Starnes was named Greenwood District 50 Teacher of the Year – a welcome recognition for someone who loves her students and wants to see them rise above their circumstances to succeed in life beyond the classroom.
Lee Ann Starnes was named Greenwood District 50 Teacher of the Year – a welcome recognition for someone who loves her students and wants to see them rise above their circumstances to succeed in life beyond the classroom.
“I was completely shocked by this honor,” said Starnes, a teacher at Mathews Elementary School who earned her M.Ed. from Southern Wesleyan University.
Starnes’ love for teaching goes back to her childhood. The daughter of a preschool teacher, she would sit in her room as a child and teach her dolls different lessons.
“I felt that I wanted to be the one who helped others, starting with kids,” she said. She remembers teachers she had who made learning fun while caring about their students. When Starnes was in fifth-grade, her grandfather passed away. At the time, her class was reading “The Taste of Blackberries,” which dealt with the subject of death.
“When I came back to school after the funeral, my classmate had dedicated the book to my grandmother and me. The class had illustrated and summarized each chapter into its own little book. I never forgot that touching day and still have this book in my classroom to remind me to create those connections,” Starnes said.
The greatest gift for a teacher, according to Starnes, is when their students love school and learning. She enjoys making history lessons come to life and also watching her students light up when learning scientific facts about the world around them.
“Recently we were discussing light and how it’s made up of many different colors all mixed together. I have something called ‘rainbow peepholes’ that allow students to actually see the white light making the color spectrum. When the students see this, it blows their minds, which then leads to discussions on how you see a rainbow and colors in bubbles,” Starnes said.
Teaching isn’t without challenges, since Starnes’ school serves an area where many live below the poverty line. Knowing underlying issues going on in a student’s life is key to her understanding their behavior.
“I struggle with ‘why would they listen to me?’ when all they want to know is how to survive on the streets. Why would a student need to know about science when they don’t feel safe at home? How I get through it is trying to make them feel safe at school and know that they are better than what they come from if they believe that they can be,” Starnes said.
Starnes continues to benefit from her years at Southern Wesleyan, often referring back to her class notes when assessing a student’s needs.
“I met some really amazing people and professors that helped me become a better teacher,” she said.
“Teaching is a wonderful profession that can give students a voice and a goal for the future. It has some challenges, but the rewards outweigh those challenges,” Starnes said. Make those connections with students and set high expectations for them to soar.”
View this video from Greenwood District 50 of Starnes in her classroom
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