Many of our teachers don’t get the recognition that they deserve. After all, they spend about eight hours a day with our children 180 days a year, preparing them for the future without exactly knowing what that future is. The excellent teachers continue to improve upon and update their lessons and methods of teaching. The explosion of technology in the last 20 years has demanded that teachers keep up with the changing environment they find themselves in. One of our own has been recognized for doing just that — Dr. Penny Ferguson, chair of the English Department at Maryville High School. Dr. Ferguson will be inducted into the National Teachers hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas in June. She is only the third Tennessee teacher to attain this status. To find out more about Dr. Ferguson and many of her other awards, checkout the National Teachers Hall of Fame

Throughout her 39 years in education, she has developed new and innovative ways to teach her students. As a junior in high school, I had the benefit of being in her class and learning about the great classics and writing research papers. I am certain her class helped instill the foundation of writing that I would later use professionally. Even though I had her in school many years ago, she looks just the same. As an adult covering education in the community, I had the opportunity to observe many new lessons she has incorporated into her class: the Family History Project, the Decades Project and others. I would love the opportunity to go back and complete some of these projects. In addition to keeping her classes fresh, over the years, she has continued with her own education, earning a doctorate in 1988. I am sure that this has impacted students about the importance of becoming lifelong learners.

We are lucky to have a teacher of this caliber in our community. At a recent reception at Maryville High School, Dr. Ferguson quoted Emily Dickinson, altering it slightly, “My students are my estate.” Fortunately, that estate will continue to grow as she doesn’t have any plans for retiring anytime soon.