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By Donna Bumgarner
Contributing Writer
The highest honor a teacher can receive is being chosen as Teacher of the Year by both her peers and her administrators. Fran Guinn, a highly qualified teacher who has been employed at Whitmire Community School since 2006, recently received that honor.
Fran received her undergraduate degree from USC Upstate in 2006 with a major in History and Political Science. She was a LIFE scholar, a Teacher Fellow Scholar, and 2006 Outstanding Student Teacher. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education. In 2007, she began her Masters’ Degree Program at Columbia College, and she graduated with honors and a 4.0 GPA. One year later, she began her Masters’ of Education Degree Program in Divergent Learning with a Gifted and Talented Endorsement at Converse College. This fall she plans to work on her Education Specialist Program in Secondary Education Administration and Supervision at Converse.
She continually challenges herself to go further, do more, and do it better, while she continues to be actively involved in the activities of the school. She has been recognized for being a facilitator, committee chairman, sponsor, and grant recipient. She works with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and teaches single - gender classes at the middle school level.
Fran’s philosophy is simple. Teaching is definitely a calling because teaching is not what it seems to be on the surface. “To be a teacher,” she said, “is to be a counselor, a friend, a motivator, a regulator, a confidant, and sometimes even a parent.” She does not take her occupation lightly because it is her identity. Her ability to unlock the students’ minds is a result of her power to reach them. She says, “I am the key to unlock the students’ minds, the bolt to hold their emotions together, and the lubricant that allows their wheels to turn. I am the instrument that motivates students to see the unseen, explore the unexplored, and to always reach for the stars.”
She believes that all teachers should be progressive and understand that students learn best through real world experiences meaningful to them. Students in the ideal classroom should feel safe to learn, be free to explore, and be encouraged to rise above challenges. “If there is no challenge, there is no purpose,” she said.
“Teachers,” she said, “should have a servant’s heart and create an environment that empowers students to be all they can be.” Therefore, Fran places high values on her students and strives to illustrate those values in and out of the classroom. In essence, she is passionate; she loves what she does. She caters her instruction to the needs of the students through a variety of visual, auditory, oral, tactile, and kinesthetic stimulants. Drama, collaboration, group work, team building, debating, visual displays, photography, games, interviews, music, and technology are all part of her teaching. She has a unique classroom with unique students, and she tailors her teaching to meet those needs.
Fran says that today’s students are the pilots while the teachers are their guides. She went on to say that students have to be given the opportunity to think outside the box and realize their full potential. Their teacher’s job, according to her, is to help them understand how they will impact the world.
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