“I just challenge all of us, as we work together to challenge public school systems, to be better and that we support them in ways that are innovative and creative, that we disrupt the status quo,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in late 2019.
The University of Tennessee has been doing just that.
From establishing community schools in Knoxville to developing dance education teachers and changing teacher preparation programs, UT works to continue to produce educators who excel in leading their students. What teachers do and say in the classroom impact future generations, and their importance cannot be shortchanged.
As UT Knoxville alumna Alison Manning wrote in this issue’s Last Word “Teaching is not easy. It never has been. It is more than making awesome lesson plans, having great test scores and getting a top score on an evaluation. It took me a few years to realize that.” In that realization, she also learned what made her work worth it.