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So says Yushica Walker, Texas’ 2010 Secondary Teacher of the Year and a product of Texas schools herself. The El Paso ATPE member and Texas’ representative in the National Teacher of the Year competition shares how motherhood and life as a military spouse have influenced her teaching style. Interview and photos by Kate Johanns

You rock

“The one person who sealed my decision to enter the teaching field at a young age was one of my aunts, Ms. Willie Mae Wolf. … Aunt Willie Mae introduced me to the teaching field in special ways—from assisting her with the preparation of the school year to being one of her ‘pretend students’ as she would prepare and practice for her teacher evaluations. As I would help her in the summers, I watched the joy and pride that she displayed. I knew that I wanted to be just like her when I grew up and become a teacher.” —2010 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year Yushica Walker in her National Teacher of the Year essay

“Inspiration is what I strive to accomplish daily. I inspire and remind my colleagues and others around me how positive thinking and a smile can make a difference in everyone’s day. Whether it is students, teachers, custodians, administrators, parents or other guests, I always take the time to greet them with a huge smile. … I have a poster in my classroom that reads, ‘Attitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference!’ I really try to make a positive difference in every individual I meet by just simply taking a few minutes to listen and share a positive gesture. … As the 2010 National Teacher of the Year, my message would be simple: Inspiration is contagious!” —2010 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year Yushica Walker in her National Teacher of the Year essay

ATPE: As a military spouse, you’ve had to adapt quickly to new situations. How have your experiences made an impact on the ways you interact with students?

Walker: [El Paso ISD] is my fourth school district, and I’ve had an opportunity to learn so much, collaborate with so many great teachers and administrators and learn from students. I would definitely not be the teacher I am today without the variety of moving around with the military.

I am so blessed that I’m a “people person.” I meet no strangers, as one of my grandmothers told me. I think that you have to be flexible in the teaching profession. I become attached to a community as soon as I get there. And it is hard for me to leave. When we left Fort Hood—and we were there for seven years—I kept saying, “I don’t know how I’m going to start all over!” You have your little pity party, but it just lasts for a second, and then you brush off your shoulders, and you get back up. As one of my previous administrators shared with me, “Yushica, people know that you love to teach, and the kids know. And it doesn’t matter where you are, they are going to know that you are definitely born to be a teacher.” I’ve been blessed.

ATPE: What was it like to find out that you were Teacher of the Year for the entire state?

Walker: Wow! It was nerve-wracking, it was exciting, it was ecstatic. I was trying to picture my students’ faces here at Morehead. Of course my principal was texting back the information. I was excited, nervous and ecstatic for the school and our school district. What an honor! We are all winners.

ATPE: How do you think that you’ve changed as a teacher throughout your career?

Walker: I really think that after I became a mother, I became a better teacher. My rule of thumb has always been to treat others like you want to be treated. We are all the same in that we all learn differently. [After becoming a mother, I started to] think, would I really want a teacher to tell my child this?

ATPE: In your essays for the National Teacher of the Year competition, you discuss the importance of mentoring new teachers. How would you describe the role of a mentor in a new teacher’s life?

Walker: Oh, mentoring is my passion. New teachers are going to equip our future leaders. I believe that first impressions are lasting impressions, and that everyone has to begin somewhere. Teachers have to have that great foundation and see a variety [of teaching styles]. It’s kind of like when we’re children. When we see our parents and they’re our role models, then we’re going to do as we are taught to do. I really believe that when veteran teachers and seasoned teachers take newbies into their classrooms, they have to role model for them. And remember that those new teachers bring the best ideas.

ATPE: You have volunteered as a campus representative for the local units in both Killeen and El Paso ISDs. How did you get involved with ATPE?

Walker: I’ve been an ATPE member since 2001. Once I came back to Texas, I joined ATPE. I got my master’s in administration, and I saw that ATPE wasn’t just for teachers, it was for everyone. This feisty deputy superintendent in Killeen ISD really got me. She was an ATPE member, and she was such a feisty woman, and I was like, I want to be just like her. When I got here to El Paso, I saw ATPE, and I met the local unit president and the reps, and I was so excited. They said, “OK, new teacher, we’re going to sign you up,” and I said, “No, honey, I’ve been a representative already—you don’t have to sell me on ATPE, I am ATPE.”

ATPE: If you’re selected as a National Teacher of the Year finalist, what will you tell the selection committee about El Paso schools and Texas schools?

Walker: I just want them to understand that I’m representing such a wonderful school district and a wonderful region as well as state. I was reared in the educational system of Texas, and I know that we’re doing great things. Big things do come out of Texas.

Five things you should know

About Secondary Teacher of the Year Yushica Walker

  1. The 13-year education veteran teaches sixth-grade science at El Paso ISD’s Morehead Middle School.
  2. Walker grew up on the outskirts of Houston and is a graduate of Aldine ISD’s Eisenhower High School. The same day Walker graduated from Prairie View A&M University, she also married her college sweetheart.
  3. As a military spouse, Walker has spent time at Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and Fort Hood, Texas. When her husband received orders for White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, Walker found her way to Morehead Middle School.
  4. When she’s not attending one of her 10-year-old son’s football games, Walker spends her free time volunteering with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., a public service organization she’s been involved with since college. And, she says, she’s a “big shopper.”
  5. Walker has volunteered as an ATPE campus representative for both Killeen ATPE and El Paso ATPE.

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