Forest Hills — With more than 30 years in education, 17 of them at Forest Hills Public Schools, Tammy Morris still loves being a part of the “little miracle” of seeing her kindergartners grow into learners.
Before the school year began, the Pine Ridge Elementary teacher took some time to reflect on the changes she’s seen in education, and shared why she still loves coming to work every day.
Why do you teach? “My sister really struggled to learn. We lived in Indiana at the time, so my mom took her to Butler University to get specialized reading help and I would go along. I remember thinking at that time, I sort of wanted to know how you help kids because my sister really struggled. Then when I was in high school, I started helping out in Sunday school at church with the littles. … I just sort of really enjoyed being with the younger kids and I knew from a very young age that that’s what I wanted to do.”
“You’re watching a little miracle happen every year.”
— kindergarten teacher Tammy Morris
What is your biggest motivator that keeps you excited about teaching? “I love watching how kids grow during the school year. They come in, and they’re just so little, and they grow across everything, the whole academic scope.”
Seeing students’ progress from the start of the school year to the end, “They’re blown away, and I am too. I can’t believe it happens every year. You know you’re watching a little miracle happen every year. So I guess that’s what keeps me coming back is, I like watching that happen.”
Why kindergarten? What’s the best/most interesting thing about it? “One, kindergartners come in, for the most part, they are just so full of joy and natural curiosity. We ask them to walk down the hall and they skip, because they’re just so full of energy and joy about everything, and I love being around that energy with them.”
But it’s not only the students’ energy that Morris enjoys.
“Mommies and daddies are usually very nervous when they bring their child to you, and I like helping families, as well as kids, adjust to the school life and helping them become part of the school community, because they’re going to be with us for the next 12 to 13 years.”
What are some of the biggest challenges in your role, and how do you strive to meet them? Morris emphasized the importance of staying up to date with changes in curriculum, standards and best teaching practices, elements that are constantly evolving.
“You’ve got to have your tool bag pretty full so that you can meet everybody where they’re at, so they can achieve and still love learning and wanting to be part of being a lifelong learner, because you’re setting them (up for that), especially in kindergarten.”
Because you have been in education since 1991, what are some of the significant changes you have seen? Morris said kindergarten expectations have increased, but kindergartners today are the same age as her first-graders were in 1991. The curriculum may be more advanced now, she said, but developmentally, children haven’t changed. They’re still going through natural stages, and at just 60–72 months old, there’s only so much life experience they can have, she pointed out. Like walking, learning happens at different rates for each child, she added, and sometimes teachers have to be detectives to figure that out.
“When I taught first grade in 1991, we still (focused on) a letter a week and we got to vowels near the end of the year, and sort of did some (consonant-vowel-consonant) practice. Today in kindergarten, the biggest thing is we go all the way from introducing the letters and the sounds, the vowels, and working on blends and digraphs before they leave kindergarten. When I taught first grade, I think there were 30 words they learned by sight. … Now my list is like 50 to 60.”
What is the most amazing/notable/interesting thing about your students? Morris said it’s watching the students grow and seeing them being excited about learning.
“It’s also like you have your own little paparazzi, because when they see you, they’re like ‘Oh, it’s Mrs. Morris!’ The closest I’ll ever get to fame is seeing the kids, having them come back and visit. … I’m always the best teacher ever (according to them) and I’m their first teacher, and so that’s always sort of just a little nice thing.”
What would you say to someone considering teaching as a profession? “I would say ‘Come join us.’”
Morris said passion and stick-to-it-iveness play a big role. “It’s a job where you can’t give up easily. … You’ve got to just persevere, because there’s always challenges. And you’ve got to have a good sense of humor, and if you like not doing the exact same thing every day — because we have no two days in kindergarten that are ever alike and you have to be a little bit of a detective — then this is the job for you.”
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