By Mickey Dunaway

I taught high school for nine years. I taught middle school for one year (and the Almighty saw that I learned all the lessons I needed and graciously allowed me to leave). I was an assistant principal in a 7-12 school for five years. I was a high school principal for 12 years. A CO-SOB (central office SOB!) for eight years as deputy superintendent for instruction for five and superintendent for three. Finally, a professor of educational leadership for 14 teaching teachers who were masters and doctoral students who wanted to lead schools. This varied experience taught me more about schools and what it takes to succeed than all the coursework I took in my 13 years or so of formal university schooling

Yesterday, as Sandy and I were driving down to UNCC to check a book out of the college library (as a professor emeritus, you still get to do that!) for my family genealogy research, we got talking about great teachers and the lack of courage that school districts have as they assign the newbies to the most challenging schools. We both agreed that a school district’s greatest and most valuable resource is teachers and—most importantly, great teachers can teach all kids regardless of background or past learning difficulties.

Over the years, I have been keeping, in my head, A Top Ten List Of Teachers with whom I have worked, and the only way to make it on that list is to demonstrate the ability, desire, and joy found in teaching all kids to learn. I have seen them in every subject area and grade level over my almost 50 years in the profession. They are rare, and I continue to cherish them like gold because they transitioned from being my students while they were my schools’ teachers to my colleagues and now are my dearest friends.

They hold the not-so-secret keys to improving schools. Ask them, and they will graciously and humbly describe what they do.

If you can do it in the desert by yourself, it is not teaching. -Mickey Dunaway