Nika Maples
Texas Teacher of the Year
Fossil Ridge High School, Keller
Grade 10, English

My teaching philosophy
Learning begins in the heart. There is no motivation to learn without a scaffold of meaning for students to climb. “Why does this matter to me?” they ask. Our job is to show them why learning matters. Personal meaning engages the heart, plain and simple. The beauty is that when we engage the heart, the head naturally follows.

My philosophy in action
Storytelling is essential to creating personal meaning. Stories are the great fabric that enfolds humanity and keeps us close. Everyone loves to be – even needs to be – part of a captivating narrative. I start almost every lesson with one. It can be in the form of a children’s book, a newspaper article, or a personal memory of my own. It is as if stories create the golden setting for the jewels of knowledge and skill that I give my classes on any particular day. Students develop individual connection and meaning, even as they themselves are being written into our classroom story each day.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
My greatest personal achievement and my greatest professional achievement are inextricably linked. In 2005 and in 2006, I created campus-wide tutoring videos that introduced key writing concepts. Professionally, this was a bold move that resulted in a delightfully shocking increase in English/Language Arts test scores on our campus. Personally, I cherish the individual students who commented that their lives were changed when they became “real writers” for the first time.

The most critical issues facing educators today
A general loss of character jeopardizes the efficacy of public education. Maintaining an intense desire to do what is right is a critical issue today. Our level of integrity as educational leaders is an indicator of the future. Our students always take away a little of our personal philosophies when they leave our classrooms. Whether we upheld character as a vital component to human decency will be evident in the state of our society in years to come.

Ways to resolve these issues
Do not lie. Do not cheat. Do not steal. Do not be jealous of what other people own. Do not pursue inappropriate sexual relationships in the workplace. Do not hurt others. These principles seem rudimentary. Yet, the depiction of teachers in the nightly news suggests that some educators have veered away from this foundation. Without character, we cannot teach well. We futilely expect high standards from our students when we are unwilling to adhere to them ourselves. The vocation of an educator is a privilege to which we must rise.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
It doesn’t take a lifetime to change the face of education. If you teach only ten years and one student per year decides to become a teacher because of your influence (which is not unreasonable), you will have inspired ten excellent new teachers. If they teach ten years apiece and one student per year becomes a teacher because of their influence, you will have indirectly inspired 100 excellent new teachers. And if the trend continues, you will have infused our public school system with 100,000 excellent new teachers over a 50-80 year period … even if you only teach for ten years. Final thought: Do it well while you do it, no matter how long you do it. You are creating teachers who will teach like you.

One lesson every student should learn
There is a cost for every choice you make. Choices open one door while closing others. This is the definition of the economic term “opportunity cost.” We only get one life. One. Just one. No “do-overs”. So make sure that you open as many positive doors as you can, and do not waste a minute opening harmful doors, because the opportunity cost is way too high. You may never have a chance to regain the price you paid for the choice you made.

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