They were heartfelt messages of appreciation written by Bingham High students delivered to every single teacher at the school.
On this episode of the Supercast, find out why so many students jumped at the opportunity to tell teachers how much they care in a project that resulted in 3,300 personalized cards delivered to classrooms, bringing some teachers to tears.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Heartfelt messages of appreciation were written by Bingham High School students and delivered to every single teacher at the school.
On this episode of the Supercast, find out why so many students jumped at the opportunity to tell teachers how much they care in a project that resulted in 3,300 personalized cards being delivered to classrooms and bringing some teachers to tears.
We're talking with some students here at Bingham High School, some of our student officers, about the project of writing cards for teachers. Tell me about how this happened and how it felt to express gratitude to your teachers.
Student #1:
Well, we had some time during the day to do the climate survey, the climate change survey, and a couple other things, and then they said, if you wanna do a form for your teachers and just thank them for all they do, You can do that, it's optional, but I mean, if you wanna take some time to thank your teacher, go ahead.
And so I think a lot of us took advantage of the opportunity to fill out that form and just thank some of our favorite teachers that we know truly care about us and just want the best for us. So I took some time to write some to some of my favorite teachers and ones that have helped me a lot throughout my years in high school. I'm a senior, I'm graduating soon, so I just wanted to thank them. I thought that was an awesome way. I'm glad the administration put that together. And yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
As a senior graduating, coming to the end of 13 years of public education, do you look back on teachers throughout your years and the impact that they've had?
Student #1:
Oh yes, for sure. Yeah, there are so many teachers, I mean, throughout elementary school and middle school, and now in high school that have really just been there for me and been there to help me. And when I've struggled, I just know that I could rely on them and they're always there to help.
Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the things you remember writing your cards to teachers?
Student #2:
Just telling them that they made me excited to go to school and school hasn't always been the best atmosphere for me personally with learning and just friends, but teachers really make it a safe place to be and they want you to learn. And that is super important to me. And I've had a lot of teachers, I could say every teacher's had a really good atmosphere to help me learn and help me grow. And you can just tell that everyone at Bingham really, really cares about their students and want us to succeed and go on, and it's really cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
I remember those classrooms too. Where you knew, I'm going to walk in this classroom and it's going to feel good. And there's going to be something engaging and interesting for me to do that's going to push me and move me to places I hadn't been.
Student #2:
100%.Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
How about for you?
Student #3:
For me, I was just thanking my teachers for all they'd done. I wrote one to my choir teacher. I started singing choir at Bingham, so it was my first year I was scared. And he helped me just fit in with the class and it was really welcoming and now I love choir and it's definitely one of my favorite classes. So my teachers, they're just so nice and I was just thanking them for all they do to make me feel safe at the school and help me develop my education further.
Anthony Godfrey:
How about you? Do you remember some of the things that you said?
Student #4:
Yeah, so I wrote a lot about personal interactions that I've had with the teachers and I think for me, personal interactions with them, like make it or break it. And treating my teachers like they're my friends, you know. I like treating them with respect, and they also treat me with respect. And I think I'm really grateful for that. So showing that and being able to reciprocate that in a letter and them being able to read it on my behalf is so cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
Looking back on the year, are you able to see kind of the progression? Like you start out kind of wondering what's this class going to be about. And now you get to this totally different place. And really, to me, that's what's amazing is how the relationships form over the year. It's kind of imperceptible and then you look back and you realize just how far you've come.
Student #4:
I'd agree. I think that like, I don't know, I feel like at the beginning of the year you're a little nervous like going into the first day of school. It's like, oh I don't know what to expect. What's going to change and what's going to be different from last year? But I think you grow and develop as a human throughout, I don't know, this is my junior year so very big year for me, just a lot of decisions. And I think there's a lot of personal growth and I think teachers helped with that. They're coaching me along the way and like helping me become the person that I want to be. So, yeah.
Student #2:
I agree. I think that throughout the year the teachers can, their excitement for that subject and what they're teaching is contagious and it's really helped me know what I want to do. Like specifically my physics teacher, Mr. Fish. He is amazing and he just really cares about us learning and it's made me think about how I want to apply that to maybe my future career.
Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic. Any other parting thoughts about your teachers?
Student #1:
I just, I personally think that the choice is up to them if they want to make the class super fun and engaging, or just do the bare minimum, and there are so many teachers that just, they want it to be engaging. They go out of their way, they take time outside of school to make school a place of learning, but also a place of fun. And with that, I think that me as a student, I like to give more respect to that, and I think a lot of other students do too.
Just because that's hard to put in that much effort and that much time to try and just make the class something fun and not something that will bore students. And with that, you know, it just makes me a lot more grateful to see all the hard work they're putting in. As a result, I just, I have a lot of respect for them. So yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much.
Students:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's nice to meet all of you.
Stay with us when we come back. Jordan School District's Teacher of the Year received a stack of handwritten cards of appreciation from students. Find out what they said and Andrea Call’s reaction.
Break:
Does your student want to become a veterinarian? Commercial pilot? Programmer? Maybe they want to make a difference as a dental assistant. These are just some of the programs offered as part of Career and Technical Education. CTE in Jordan School District. CTE provides the technical skills needed to prepare students for future employment or for a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the Kids' Marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District visit cte.jordandistrict.org today and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at Bingham High School celebrating Andrea Call, the Teacher of the Year for Jordan School District. How do you feel Andrea?
Andrea Call:
I'm shocked, I'm honored. Yeah, I feel like I represent so many amazing teachers so I hope I can do well.
Anthony Godfrey:
There are a lot of amazing teachers out there and you are certainly one of them. There's a great teacher in every classroom in Jordan School District but I've been so excited to be able to be in yours and to see you teach. To see really the connection that you have with students it's really something. And the connection that you made with the adults who have been in the classroom as well.
We were there for “Miner Tank” we did another Supercast episode about that. We just talked with some students about the project of writing thank you cards for teachers. So Andrea, as hard as it is to read things about yourself, would you mind pulling out a couple of the cards that you received? A couple of the thirty, I think it's thirty-three hundred cards that were written here at Bingham, and just read a couple of those for us if you would.
Andrea Call:
Okay.
“Hi Mrs. Call, I just wanted to thank you for believing in me. You were the first teacher since elementary school who had faith in me. So I thank you for that.”
“She is always there to talk to.”
“ She is kind. I love her style of teaching and the activities we do to tie in the lessons. She is my favorite teacher.”
“She is absolutely the best teacher at the school. She is a gem and a prize in our school community. She goes above and beyond for her students.”
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that feels pretty good. They're not even about me and it felt great to hear those cards.
Andrea Call:
Yeah, but I am sure that if we had another teacher here reading it would be the same because I do feel like most of the teachers at Jordan District really care about their students. We have such a unique group of teachers and staff that support and care about the students and so I feel like we could read hundreds of cards about everybody.
Anthony Godfrey:
Every student has a teacher of the year in their mind.
Andrea Call:
Absolutely.
Anthony Godfrey:
What would you say to the students who took the time to write these cards, voluntarily, as part of their school day?
Andrea Call:
I feel like these thank-you notes are probably the greatest gift and greatest payment that you could possibly give a teacher. Because I just feel like hearing that you have made a difference, that you have actually impacted a student is the best thing for a teacher.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about what it was that made you want to become a teacher.
Andrea Call:
Oh gosh. I feel like I have always felt sort of a responsibility to, I don't know, help and serve those around me. Oh gosh. And I feel like being in education is probably the most impactful way to do that. And we, you know, being a teacher is one of those things like you don't know if you're doing it well, and it's not really until students kind of come back and sort of say to you a couple years later, like, you helped me, what you taught me has impacted me. And to me, that's what it's about. Is helping students just be good humans and recognize that they have another adult cheering for them.
I mean, I don't have to do that because you know your parents you kind of discount because you're like my mom and dad, they have to love me. But you know your teachers we really don't, we choose to. And so I think for me that is really impactful for my life, is choosing to love and serve.
Anthony Godfrey:
You have described very well that unique relationship between teacher and student. It doesn't have to happen. Just because you're in the same room at the same time doesn't mean there's automatically a connection. It's when teachers like you reach out and give of yourself and have that focus on service, and caring, connecting.
And you're right. There is no number. There's no test. There's no analysis that provides you that type of feedback about the impact that you've had. Sometimes it's years later and it can sometimes be a student that in the moment didn't seem all that engaged with the class, necessarily.
Andrea Call:
Yeah, those are the best actually.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, exactly when you don't expect it. Tell me about some of the things that you've heard from students over the years.
Andrea Call:
I feel like most of it is you know, “you help me see the world in a different way.” “You help me, you know learn how to learn.” “You help me value myself and believe in myself.” That those are probably the most impactful, you know. And then I do enjoy the students that go to college and are like “you taught me everything I needed to know in marketing and so my class is easy” so that helps me.
Anthony Godfrey:
For those who haven't had the chance to be in your classroom talk about the classes that you teach.
Andrea Call:
Yeah, I teach a lot of business classes so I teach Business Communications. I teach Business Leadership. I teach Marketing and then concurrent enrollment Marketing, and then the Entrepreneurship Academy and the school store so a lot of practical business classes.
Anthony Godfrey:
And the entrepreneur class is the one that I was able to visit where we brought in business leaders who really helped mentor throughout the year students who have their own ideas and their own business projects. Tell me a little bit about that.
Andrea Call:
Yeah, that actually has been so fun because students have looked for like a problem that they see and then they've come up with a solution on how to fix it. Which is what an entrepreneur is. And then they've been able to develop that idea into businesses and have some guidance from people who have started businesses and been wildly successful. And even if they've decided that they don't want to continue the business, they've learned so many things just about being an entrepreneur or just being a person in business or having a job.
Anthony Godfrey:
And you've already referenced it, but there are lots of things that your students take away from your class that have nothing to do with business or marketing.
Andrea Call:
Yeah, yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's problem solving, and I think from what I saw, I feel like it's a sense of efficacy that they know ‘Hey, if I apply myself and really try this I can do something I didn't think I could do.’
Andrea Call:
Yeah, absolutely. Honestly for me those soft skills, those real-world skills are probably more important than the content, you know, because you can Google the content.
Anthony Godfrey:
Right, and those skills are going to apply to a wide range of circumstances throughout their lives.
Andrea Call:
Yeah, yeah for sure.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about teachers in your life that have had an impact.
Andrea Call:
(laughs) - I mean, so many teachers in my life, and especially the ones who were able to believe in me when I couldn't believe in myself. I mean, there have been so many in so many different areas. I feel like, honestly, I have the attitude that most people that I come in contact with, I have something to learn from, and so honestly, there are so many.
Anthony Godfrey:
When you're interacting with as many high school students as you do, that's the perfect attitude to have. There's something to learn from everyone. I remember learning things from my students all the time.
Andrea Call:
Yeah, I learned so much from them. I actually learn more from them sometimes than I'm sure they learn from me.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it's a great concentration of humans that get to interact and learn from each other and make connections that just don't go away. So, any thoughts for those who may be considering being a teacher? Either adults who are thinking of coming to teaching or students who are thinking about pursuing it early on as a career?
Andrea Call:
Yeah, I mean, I feel like we desperately need more people who want to be teachers. And I think a lot of times we worry like, well, maybe we don't know the content area, but I think if you care about people, it's one of the best professions for you to be in. I'm not gonna lie, there's not a lot of money in it, But I do feel like there's a huge reward. So, and that matters. And at the end of your life, I feel like that may matter more.
Anthony Godfrey:
Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you for being our Teacher of the Year, Andrea, and for being an incredible educator.
Andrea Call:
Thanks.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.