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- [S106] The Mountain Press, 7 Mar 2011.
Ballard has knack for middle grades education
by ELLEN BROWN
Planning to be a social worker, Michelle Ballard instead found she liked teaching and has been an educator for 18 years.
Michelle Ballard exudes a passion for teaching that makes it easy to see how she was selected 2011 Sevier County Schools Middle Grades Teacher of the Year.
But the Seymour Middle School eighth-grade science teacher and cheerleading coach says a career in education wasn’t always her dream job.
“I had no intentions of being a teacher — I wanted to be a social worker and help abused children.”
But when she had trouble finding a job in her chosen field, she began substitute teaching. After spending six weeks with one particular class, she was bitten by the teaching bug.
Already armed with a bachelors degree in psychology, she went back to the University of Tennessee to receive her masters degree in teaching. Later on, she would receive her education specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University.
She’s now in her 18th year working in education.
“My first year, in 1992, I taught at Carter High School (in Knoxville). After that, I ended up teaching fifth grade in Sevier County, and I wholeheartedly fell in love with that age group. I also taught sixth grade, and I’ve taught eighth grade for 10 years now. They’re not so big that you can’t reach them, but they’re not itty-bitties, either.”
Ballard is originally from Baltimore, Md., and moved to Sevier County when she was in the seventh grade.
“I’ve been here long enough that I call this home.”
She graduated from Seymour High School in 1986. Her mother still lives in the area, as well as her sister, Melissa Godfrey, a teacher at Seymour Intermediate School.
She and husband Matt have two daughters, a high-schooler and a seventh-grader.
She’s been Seymour Middle’s cheerleading coach for eight years but plans to take next year off to spend more time with her children and attend their games.
Ballard also serves as one of the school’s Beta Club sponsors and enjoys playing golf with her husband.
“I’m just a big kid.”
As for her teaching philosophy, she strives to draw in her students from the first day.
“(Having them) read the book and take the test is not teaching. I try to get them involved, to encourage them to be what they want to be. I want them to understand there’s a whole big world out there.”
As for being recognized as Middle Grades Teacher of the Year, “It’s humbling. I am so thrilled — I’m pinching myself.
“I’m lucky enough to work with some of the best people in the world, and our kids absolutely rock.”
ebrown@themountainpress.com
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1968 - (55 years)