In Their Own Words: Teacher Narratives

Would you be where you are today without the people in your life who encouraged and inspired you? If you’re like me, the answer is ‘no.’ As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week this week across the country and here at the Gates Foundation, the role teachers have played in my life has certainly been on my mind.

I was first inspired to teach by my mom, a history teacher of 35 years, and by my 10th grade English teacher. Now, as an English teacher at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee, I enjoy the spark and “Aha!” moment on my students’ faces when they understand a concept or master a complex task.

With more data than ever available in the classroom, the challenge is making it work—for teachers and for students. In this video accompanying the Gates Foundation’s Teachers Know Best: Making Data Work report, educators discuss how they work with data, and how they’d like to see the digital tools that support its use improve.