Marty Johnson - Professional Biography

I had several factors that influenced me to become a teacher: I have many family members that were involved in education. I substituted many times while I was working in another field, and I believe it was my destiny.

            My mother was a teacher’s aide while I was in second through fifth grade, and then she became the secretary at Chester County Junior High, in 1976, when I was in the sixth grade. From that time until 1999, she was the secretary at CCJHS. During the same time, my father was a bus driver, and when he retired from farming, he worked in the maintenance department for Chester County. I also have sisters, brother-in-laws, and cousins that serve in some fashion in the different educational systems throughout the state. Growing up, I never thought I would want to teach for a living. I know that my family influenced my decision to pursue such a great career.

            When I graduated from high school in 1983, I decided to pursue a degree in accounting from Freed-Hardeman. I attended Freed-Hardeman for a year and half, but my heart was not into my career choice or college. I sought and gained employment from Procter and Gamble. I worked as a warehouse technician for three years on a swing shift. During the second and third shifts, my mother would ask me to substitute teach when they were short on substitutes. (I know that is hard for anyone to imagine.) I fell in love with teaching during this time. I knew that if I ever had the opportunity to return to college, my career choice would be easy. In 1987, the opportunity arose, and I took full advantage of the occasion.

            I honestly believe that I was destined to teach. I know many of my peers that have become burned out over the years, but I believe that my experience from working in another field helped me realize that the worst day of teaching is better than the best night of swing shift work. Because at the end of the worst day of teaching, I can know I’ve done something good for at least one child.

            I believe that my greatest contribution to teaching is the ability to make all children believe in themselves. I believe that if you make children realize that you care about them; they will also care about themselves. Many children that I have in class, that are not successful in other classes, are very successful in mine. They know that I truly want them to do well. I want them to excel, not so I will feel good about myself, but so they can feel good about themselves.

            My students know when they walk into my room that they are safe, they are loved, and that we are going to work. Research shows that students must feel safe to learn. I was skeptical of this at first, because I thought I could teach anyone no matter what. But when I thought about the facts and the students that I always struggled to reach, I realized that the research was correct. The students that I struggled with the most, were the ones that did not know what would happen to them when they went out into the hall after class, when they got on the bus, or when they got home. I started making an effort to find out what my students fears were and let them know that they were not only going to be safe for an hour, but they could come to me at anytime for help. When the students understood that I cared, they too began to care about their performance in my class.

            My greatest achievement in education stems from the many times I have received thank you notes and comments from former students. The greatest example of this is from a former student; she now plays basketball for the University of Georgia. She stated in her bibliography for their program that I have had the greatest influence upon her career. Teacher of the Year is great because your peers are the ones that recognize that you are doing your job, but inspiring the students is what it is all about!