(Editor’s note: Meet one of the five finalists for Columbia County’s Board of Education Teacher of the Year Award. The winning teacher will be announced at Columbia County’s Teacher banquet on Oct. 5 at White Oak Road Farm.)
Raised by parents who both worked as educators, Nora Goolsby followed in their footsteps carrying on the teacher’s legacy and has been a teacher for 11 years.
“I grew up around it; I kind of just always knew that it was something I was interested in, and then in high school we had a teacher cadet program which really gave me firsthand experience even before I went to college for it,” said Goolsby, a member of the Digital Learning Team and serves as Riverside Elementary’s website administrator where she teaches first grade.
“I knew then I absolutely, really wanted to be a teacher.”
MORE: Richmond County Teacher Finalist: Shikara Willis
Golsby said the teacher cadet program, in her senior year of high school, allowed her to spend time listening to teacher speakers and spend some time every day in a kindergarten classroom.
“I nannied a lot in high school and all through college, so keeping little ones was something that I was passionate about,” she said. “I love the little ones obviously and I even taught swim lessons for a very long time – for almost every summer up until I had my own children.”
With experience of teaching pre-k through second grade and even special education, Goolsby said her teaching style changes depending on her students.
“I can’t think of just one specific style; it kind of evolves with the needs of your students. Depending on what grade level you’re teaching or the material you’re teaching, but if you were to look inside my classroom you’d see we really try to establish a sort of family style community,” she said. “I really strive to have a lot of fun while we’re learning, but also structure too just for the consistency and the routine of the ages that I teach.”
MORE: Columbia County Teacher Finalist: Marisol Garcia-Mitchell
By creating a positive learning environment for young students, Goolsby said she believes it makes a big impact long-term on children’s education.
“I’ve always felt a connection with what they call ‘the early childhood years;’ I just know the importance of creating a love of school at such a young age is really so important,” she said. “Knowing if I can kind of set their tone for school at the beginning of their academic years is a gift that we can give to kids. They’re going to be in school for so many years, but if we can set that tone at the beginning, they really benefit from it for the rest of their years. So, I like to be a part of that.”
Goolsby said her involvement in teaching special education will always have a special place in her heart and in her classroom.
“My first year teaching I taught specifically special needs; that was a need in the school, and it was something I was excited to try, but ever since I’ve always had special needs students as part of my general education classrooms,” she said. “They just bring so much joy and learning to the community that we have, and just having them be a part of our classroom is dear to my heart. We teach them but they also teach us in so many different ways.”
Prior to teaching in Columbia County, Goolsby earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from Lander University and spent her first two years teaching in South Carolina. She has also become a Google for Education Certified Trainer and has assisted in mentoring two teachers and eight student teachers.
Through her experience in teaching students and colleagues, Goolsby said she hopes she models to her students how to act in a respectful manner and show compassion for others.
“I feel like it comes down to just the way we interact with each other,” she said. “I just want them to know that I show them with my actions and my words that I model love for them. That no matter their successes or their failures, if they have good or poor behavior that day, that I love them no matter what. I want them to have that for each other and for other people in their life as they go beyond our classroom. That each day is a blank slate.”
Overall, Goolsby wants her students to know she loves and cares for them beyond just their education within the classroom, but she also thinks students must have mutual respect in the class to have effective learning.
Prior to becoming a mother, Goolsby said for the longest time she thought of her students as her children because she would spend more time with them than she would at home.
“I think [becoming a mother] just kind of broadens your view of the impact that you have as a teacher,” she said. “You know those are children in your classroom that are the most precious gift to their parents, and you want to give them your best just like you would do for your own.”
MORE: Richmond County Teacher Finalist: Martina Anderson
Goolsby said she loves when parents share how former students still think about their year with her in the classroom, and how seeing her students’ successes in later years reaffirms her passion for teaching.
“Most of the time it’s through the parents at the ages that I’m teaching but occasionally I’ll run into ones that are older these days, and they still remember some of the fun things that we did and the learning that we did and that means so much to me,” she said.
Goolsby believes teachers muts remain flexible and adaptable in order to always meet the needs of their students.
“As teachers, if we get comfortable, we have to know that there’s always more to learn. There’s constant change so we have to be flexible and know that our style evolves overtime as it fits the needs of our students,” she said. “So, my philosophy overall is that my goal is to meet each student where they are and support them to love learning through meaningful instruction.”
In five to ten years, Goolsby said she hopes to still, in some capacity, still have a positive effect on students and their learning.
“It’s hard to imagine the next 10 years, but whatever I’m doing I hope it’s something that I’m passionate about and that I get to have a direct impact on students because that’s where my heart is,” she said. “Getting to see them excited about learning is what I want to do – whatever that may look like.”
The winner of the Teacher of the Year Award will be announced on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at the White Oak Road Farm.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
