From the Superintendent’s Seat

In Honor of Teachers

by Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs

As Superintendent of Syosset Schools for the past 11 years, I have interviewed too many teachers to count. While I evaluate teacher qualifications—their professional and life experiences—I also make sure to ask myself one question: “Would I like to be a student in this person’s class.” If I can’t answer with a definite “yes,” I won’t be welcoming the candidate to our faculty.

There are a few characteristics that are shared by all great teachers: they love children; they love learning; they are very knowledgeable, but are open to new ideas and methods; they have patience for slower learners; they care. If a teacher has these traits, he or she can be old or young, gregarious or shy, funny or serious; it doesn’t make much difference to the student.

I have a practice of meeting twice a year with my “Superintendent’s Student Cabinet.” Students from each of the district’s ten schools (seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school) sit down with me in the conference room and we talk about how they feel about their schools. Over and over, and without any prompting on my part, students tell me that what they like most about school is their teachers. They say: “They care about me,” “they help me,” and “I can talk to them about a problem.” Their teachers have made them feel secure and loved. They have made them enjoy coming to school and to love learning.

Each year in June, the Syosset Central School District honors faculty and staff members who have given 25 years of service to our schools. A teacher who has led an elementary school classroom for 25 years has made a lasting impression on well over 600 children. In secondary schools the number is probably five times that—3,000 children—and that’s only the number of children they have taught in class. Teachers also relate to children who are not in their classes on a daily basis. Whether it is as a club advisor or just passing in the hall, teachers help children to learn, to mature, to develop self-confidence and to discover their own talents.

As the school year comes to an end, let us thank all teachers who give of themselves to their students. From the new college graduates to the seasoned professionals, teachers play a very influential role in a child’s life. Next to parents, there may be no one else as influential.

Dr. Hankin is superintendent of Syosset Schools.

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