Dream
Big: Wendy Miller,
North Carolina’s 2005-2006
Teacher of the Year,
is proof that anything is possible.
By Cathy Ashby
Growing up on a
dairy farm in Spring Garden, North Carolina—a small
community on the outskirts of New Bern—Wendy
Miller thought college was a pipe dream. Her
parents, on the other hand, knew Wendy was destined for
big things, that she would someday make
a difference in the world. They were right; that someday
has come.
Several
months ago, Wendy was selected from a group of eight regional
winners as the 2005-2006 North Carolina Teacher of the
Year. This honor followed a whirlwind
of regional and national attention surrounding her participation
in the 2003 ABC television special, “Heroes
in the Classroom,” her guest appearance
on the Wayne Brady Show, and her
selection as a 2003 Disney American Teacher, an honor
bestowed on only 40 individuals nationwide every year.
And now—as Wendy embarks on a yearlong hiatus from
the classroom to serve as an ambassador, role model and
motivator to teachers and school administrators throughout
the state—the very
real possibility that she will be the next national Teacher
of the Year looms large for this small-town special education
teacher.
And she’s
tickled pink. As much as she’ll miss the students
and the classroom this year, she says she’s eager
for the opportunity to make an even bigger difference.
“I’ll be able
to influence a larger group of people and a greater number
of children by traveling.”
A
Teacher Is Born
Wendy didn’t choose teaching;
it chose her. “I truly believe that teaching
is a calling,” says Wendy.
Like many other
children, Wendy enjoyed playing school as a child. After
bartering with her brother—“I’d
play Tonka trucks with him if he’d play school with
me.”—she’d play teacher
for hours. Unlike many other children, Wendy didn’t
outgrow her fascination with teaching. On the contrary,
her passion for education
blossomed over the years, growing stronger with each inspiring
teacher she encountered during her own academic career.
Today, Wendy can
name a dozen or more role models who helped her become
an award-winning educator. But she says the real inspiration
came from her family. “My parents are the
greatest teachers in my life,” she says.
Her father taught her the
value of hard work, and her mother instilled in her a
strong sense of compassion. The combination
has served Wendy and her students well.
Teach
Outside the Box
 |
| Buccaneer
Miller lends a hand as a student pirate looks for
gold. |
 |
| Medieval
Queen Miller stands in front of her classroom castle
as she prepares to guide her students on a learning
adventure. |
Wendy’s teaching
style has been called many things—innovative, crazy,
creative—but boring isn’t one of them. She
believes that children learn best from lessons that leap
off the page. So her students don’t just
read about things; they live them. When
the class studies dinosaurs, she transforms her classroom
into a Jurassic wonderland. Time to learn
about pirates? Wendy arrives in full costume. Tiki huts?
She’s built them. Medieval
costumes? She’s worn them.
Armed with an understanding
of how kids think and a garage full of craft supplies
and classroom props, Wendy turns every class day
into a magical adventure. “The kids’
eyes light up when they see the classroom every Monday
morning,” says Wendy.
Her
efforts to make learning fun and effective may seem extreme
to some, but her results speak for themselves.
When skeptical colleagues or administrators question her
methods, she points to her students’ progress: “When
your test scores come back and the average reader level
is higher than the rest of the school—and these
are special education students—they come around.”
A
Teachers’ Teacher
During her 12-month stint as N.C. Teacher of the year,
Wendy hopes to share her
enthusiasm for experiential teaching and creative classroom
techniques with educators around the state.
But it’s not about her ego.
It’s
about the bigger picture. It’s about the kids.
Danny
Holloman, who administers the Teacher of the Year program
for the North Carolina Department of Public instruction,
is a fan of Wendy’s mission. “There
are thousands of great teachers across our state,”
says Holloman. “Wendy Miller represents all those
great teachers. Wendy is
very quick to let one know that this award is not about
her; it is about how she can best represent
the teachers in North Carolina. You do not have
to be around Wendy very long to experience her passion,
her enthusiasm, her creativity, her expertise …
her teaching story.”
According to Wendy,
that kind of passion is contagious. And that’s one
of the messages she hopes to deliver to other educators
in North Carolina. If teachers
can show their passion about learning to their students,
the students will respond. “Children
can see into your heart,” she says. “They
want to do well for you.”
Keys
to Classroom Success
When it comes to classroom success, few teachers
can claim more impressive results than Wendy Miller, whose
special education students regularly test on the same
levels as the other students in her school. When
asked to share some tricks of the trade with fellow teachers,
Wendy is eager to share her advice:
•
Communication with parents
is crucial. “Parents have to be
partners,” she explains. Don’t be afraid to
make phone calls and establish connections. The
more teachers talk with parents, the better the kids will
do.
• Teach
the children, not the lesson plans.
Wendy is adamant about this.
“You
shouldn’t be able to tell me what you’ll
do next year,
because you haven’t met your kids yet.”
Different
kids require different teaching styles. Be prepared to
tailor your lessons to your students’ strengths
and weaknesses.
•
Keep a file of motivational
examples. Upbeat as she is, Wendy has
plenty of frustrating days and challenging students. She
keeps a folder full of former students’ exceptional
work, letters and thank-you cards from them and newspaper
clippings from their successes. This
folder renews and recharges her spirit whenever it’s
low.
•
Evaluate how it’s
working. “Feedback
should be a two-way street,” says
Wendy, who believes teachers should learn to self-evaluate
and invite feedback from others around them—including
their students.
The
Future of Education
If Wendy is selected as the national Teacher of the Year,
her scope of influence will widen enormously. On
a national level, Wendy believes our education system
is heading in the right direction. However,
she has some concerns about the implementation of current
policies.
“When
it comes to ‘No Child Left Behind,’”
she says, “I believe the premise is good,
but it’s harder to put it into practice. It feels
like punishment not support.” Instead of
penalizing schools that fall just short of national mandates,
she suggests and rewarding schools that make significant
strides—even if they don’t quite make the
goal. Progress should be
rewarded, not punished, she says.
 |
| Miller
at Awards Gala in Spring 2005. |
Dream
Big
Years ago, a young girl’s dream of becoming a teacher
came true. Today, that teacher is helping to make possible
the dreams of a whole new generation of children. In
Wendy Miller’s passion for education and in the
twinkling eyes of the students she has taught, there is
great promise for the future of education in North Carolina
and in the United States.
“Dream
big, for out of dreams come miracles.”
Cathy
Ashby is an award-winning editor and writer. Her work has appeared in
dozens of regional magazines throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is
currently the editor of Carolina Parent magazine.