Siouxland Magazine - Volume 2 Issue 5

Inspire
Lessons learned from stories in our community.
South Sioux City Schools honor “Golden Apple” teachers annually at the South Sioux City Area Chamber of Commerce Annual
Banquet. One honoree each year earns a scholarship to Wayne State College masters’ degree program.
Teachers Do More Than Deliver Content
By Dr. Cyndi Hanson
The INSPIRE section of this magazine is
intended to feature a regular human being
in our community. Someone who is pursuing their
passion, living life to the fullest and has persevered
through some kind of challenge or self-discovery. We all
need a reminder from time to time that each one of us has
an impact in this world. Telling our own individual story
can inspire someone else in ways we may not imagine
because we are just ‘regular’ people.
In some issues, the subject of that feature is obvious.
Other times it is a challenge due to timing, circumstances,
or reluctance. This issue, we wanted to feature someone
who is contributing toward the development of future
leaders and it seemed obvious – a teacher of the year.
And then came the challenge, the teacher we wanted to
feature declined the spotlight. His words of his declination
were simple and brief, “There are many other people in
the community who are far more deserving of attention
than I am.” Those words could only have come from a
teacher.
So, the subject of the INSPIRE section this month is
unique. We have never done it before – we are featuring
an anonymous group of people. We are featuring people
who make a tremendous impact on our community and
our futures each day. We are featuring people who typically
embody the philosophy of ‘it’s not about me.’ We are
featuring – TEACHERS.
As we begin a school year, following a year that was
completely disrupted, I think we have a little more
appreciation for teachers than we did before. I am among
countless parents who are thankful that we get to send our
children to professional educators again – and hoping they
can stay for the whole year!
Teachers do more than deliver content. As an educator
myself, I knew that, but in mid-April I APPRECIATED it more
than I ever had before. I had only one youngster to work
with in diagramming sentences, studying civil rights, and
introducing percentages. How in the world, do teachers
do this with 15, 20 or 30 youngsters in their room?! I was
struggling with just one. How do they manage the emotions
(and hormones) of teenagers and keep the focus on learning?
How do they manage the fidgets and short attention spans of
elementary students and teach them? Teachers are amazing.
Teachers do craft the future. They teach subject matter of
course. And they also teach kindness, respect, listening,
persistence, and patience. They model the importance
of asking questions, believing in the abilities of everyone,
being humble and serving with their whole heart. I hope
as you read this article you are remembering the teacher(s)