A different kind of teacher

Nikki Moore

GYO 5th grade teacher

Springfield, Illinois

‘I’m a different kind of teacher’

Since I was a little girl, I wanted to be either a teacher or a nurse. After high school, I went to nursing school but my heart wasn’t in it. So I decided to go after my other dream: Becoming a teacher. 

Grow Your Own came into my life at a time when I really needed it. I was separated from my husband and needed to support myself and three children. The program provided tuition support and helped me with childcare. I finished school and graduated. I was the first graduate from Grow Your Own’s Springfield program.

Becoming a teacher is the best decision I’ve made in my entire life. This is my ninth year and I’ve spent almost the entire time in the same classroom. Last year I decided that I was ready for a new challenge and asked to move up a few grades. I’m now teaching 5th grade.

When I was a second year teacher, I won the Rising Star Award for teachers in District 186 who’ve been on the job for less than five years. Another award—Teacher of the Year—is for teachers who have five or more years of experience. I was nominated for that last year and made the top five.

I’m a different kind of teacher. I’m a musician and I love poetry. I use music a lot. I am the founder of the Freedom Tea, which I host every year as the culminating activity for a month of black history instruction. The children recite speeches, they sing, they perform. It’s an hour long celebration performed for the community. After it’s over, we serve tea.  It’s a big event. Newspaper reporters come out.

I’m very involved at my school. I brought a running program for girls to the school and I coach the group. I teach after-school programs. I’m also the drama coach.

I love teaching. I love the students. I can’t see myself doing anything else. I’m very happy doing what I do.

Grow Your Own provided the kind of support that new teachers and teacher candidates really need. There were times when I felt like I wasn’t going to make it but they assured me that I could finish and they were going to make sure of it. Whenever I go back to Grow Your Own meetings, I hear teacher candidates say the same things that I was saying. That support makes a huge difference!

We need more African American teachers in the classroom. I have an edge because I can relate to the black students. It’s disheartening to think that because of funding cuts, Grow Your Own may not be there. It makes a huge impact on students. Recently, a teacher brought an African American boy to my classroom because he was being unruly in her classroom. He’s a 3rd grader. I talked to him about his behavior and explained how he needs to behave in the classroom. He trusts me and he listened.

At my school, the student body is about 43 percent black and 74 percent low income. My classroom is about half black and half white. I also have three Latino students.  There are 23 teachers at the school and we’ve never had more than two black teachers since I’ve been here. We need more.

State legislators don’t always understand how important Grow Your Own is. It’s a wonderful program that supports diverse new teacher candidates. They also need to know how very important it is to have black teaches in the classroom. Students need minority teachers.