“Its Teachers’ appreciation week and Long Island Teachers want to thank all educators for their hard work and dedication. This is Cordelia Anthony from Farmingdale High School. I appreciate how my third grade teacher Mrs. Rodriguez made me feel welcomed when I first came to this country. It’s because of her that I became a teacher, So I encourage young people to get into education. You can touch so many lives just like Mrs. Rodriguez touched mine.”
“During this Teachers’ Appreciation Week, Art educator Katie Kleinpeter from Port Jeff Station, has a story to share. I will never forget Ms. Diana, my High School art teacher in Center Moriches. She encouraged me to stay in her art class even though at first, I wanted to drop out. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I loved art and that it needed to be a part of my life. Because of her inspiration I am now proud to call myself an art educator. Now it’s our turn to pass along teaching to the next generation.”
Cordelia Anthony – I have been a Living Environment teacher at Farmingdale High School since 1999. It so important to appreciate the teacher workforce for the dedication they have to students. I have been influenced by many teachers during my school career who made sure I knew that I could achieve my goals. My first teacher here in the US when I emigrated from the Caribbean to New York was Ms. Rodriguez. She saw that I was trying to adjust to a new culture and did everything she could to make me feel like every other student. She pushed me to socialize more and to work even harder to be successful. I think the compassion that she showed me has been something that I try to emulate with all my students on a daily basis. I really believe more students should go into the teaching profession. There is a great opportunity to help shape the future. I also wish that in NY state, and in Long Island specifically where we have so much cultural diversity that the teaching population will grow to represent that diversity as well. It is so important in terms of closing the achievement gaps that exist that students see a racially diverse workforce and teachers who look like them and can represent a successful role model in their lives. Teaching is a profession that everyone has an opinion about. One of the best ways that teaching and education needs to be portrayed is like the following quote:
“Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” -John F. Kennedy
Katie Kleinpeter – Art Teacher at Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association shares what inspired her to become a teacher, watch below.
Tom Glenn – A Physical Education Teacher with The Hicksville Congress of Teachers talks about what inspired him to become a Phys Ed Teacher.
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