Trendsetting teachersLinda McMurrayPosition: Kindergarten teacher Lakeside Academy.Claims to fame: 27 years in Hamilton County schools; leader, schoolwide Positive Behavior Team.Quote: "I was fortunate to have a happy and successful school career. I had several teachers who influenced me in a very positive way. These teachers created a love for reading and learning....I believe these and other teachers influenced my life in a way that developed a desire for teaching within me."John EcholsPosition: Sixth-grade reading language arts, Center for Creative ArtsClaim to fame: 10 years in education; assessor, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.Quote: "I am more than a teacher of English. I am a teacher of young adolescents. One important contribution I make to their development is helping them with organization and work habits."Joey GabyPosition: chemistry, aquatic biology, Tyner AcademyClaims to fame: 17 years in education; Tyner Department Chair; presenter, High School-Museum Collaborations, ASTC National ConferenceQuote: "As a teacher, I have the opportunity to influence many students and view this as a great responsibility. I have an eclectic philosophy of teaching; I choose the best ideas from all philosophies as well as other theories and apply them to my teaching."
Like many elementary school teachers, Jamelie Kangles has caught herself saying to students, "Yeah, I'm not very good at math."
But she knows the stereotypes that such messages reinforce, so she's made a mental note to stop.
"Elementary school teachers think of themselves as reading teachers," she said.
Starting out as a fourth-grade teacher eight years ago, she had no intention of focusing on math, but experienced colleagues noticed a spark. By the end of the year, her principal at Battle Academy was sending her to a national math conference for more training.
"I never thought of myself as a math teacher at the time," she said.
Since then, her love for the subject and the art of teaching it, has grown. She now serves as a math coach and teacher at Battle Academy, while co-teaching an afterschool robotics class.
"I want to continually learn about math and how to teach people to be better teachers," she said.
Although the math coach many consider to be exemplary is herself a little reluctant to accept the praise, she believes her constant desire to learn may have gotten others' attention.
"I'm out there a lot learning, always trying to find new ways to reach kids," she said.
In her math classes, she tries to let her students interests guide the lessons, which is especially apparent in her one of her more unique lessons: robotics.
In robotics class, students use small, Lego-constructed cars with internal computers. Students input specific directions -- the number of wheel rotations, the angle of turns, the amount of time the robot moves in a certain motion -- to a computer program, and transfer the information to the machines through a USB cord.
The machines are built to accomplish a certain mission: Knock down a Lego barrier, avoid certain obstacles, trigger a release.
When Ms. Kangles started this year's robotics program, nearly 100 students applied to be on the team, and she had to choose 18.
"I (like) the kids' excitement about it. There's a lot of real-world applications," she said.
Following a showcase at TVA -- the company that helps fund Battle's robotics program -- students spent an afternoon diagnosing what went right and what they could have done better.
Fourth-grader Ezra Nichols had to tweak the programming in his robot so the wheels stopped hitting the side of the table course.
"I'm gonna make some changes to how the robot is programmed," he said, hunched carefully over a laptop.
Thanks to Ms. Kangles' class, Ezra, 10, has decided he wants to do something with robots when he grows up.
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