Kristin White is a loud teacher. That's why Emily Lahr tells her kids that they will learn her curriculum at the same time. You can't help but hear her if you teach across the hall. Her natural enthusiasm is intensified by her passion for what she is teaching and that comes out as loud and exciting. So why is she that excited? The answer lies in a decision that she made years ago and she had me hooked in the very first sentence of her story. "I wanted to do more in life than be a doctor."
For as long as she could remember, Mrs. White dreamed of being a doctor. She worked hard in school in Kentucky where she grew up. She finished high school there with an aunt when her family moved to North Carolina. After graduating she moved to be with them and continued to work toward her goal of attending medical school. Along the way, her father contracted the West Nile virus and became permanently epileptic. Maybe it was family events that changed her mind, but somewhere along the way, she was miserable in school. She came to the realization that if she was going to be a doctor, focusing on school and school alone was all that she could do. Kristin White had a lot more to offer than that so she told her parents that she had decided to be a teacher. Like good parents, they were worried and even made her talk with a counselor. Kristin wanted to help people and she had a passion for science and while being a doctor would let her pursue both, Kristin had found a way to follow her passion while making an impact in so many other ways.
Kristin did her student teaching at Greene Central and never left. When she was the young teacher in her department she contributes a lot of help from teachers like Kathy Wegmann and Lisa Wilson. They had been at the school for a while and decided to take her under their wing. As she stayed the science department underwent some turnover and she continued to make connections beyond her hall. She learned that a good teacher doesn't have to be strong in every area, but the school collectively has enough strong teachers to be great overall. It wasn't long before she wasn't the youngest teacher anymore and she found herself supporting new teachers in the same way that she was helped.
Today, she's still helping everyone with the many talents that she has. Her husband, Stan, joined Greene County Schools as a teacher as well and everyone knows their children. So I asked her if a young person today told her that they were considering becoming a teacher, what she would tell them. She had another great quote, "Make the decision that feels right for your life." Kristin's life would be very different if she had not made the decision to be more than just a doctor. And if you know anything about her, you know that our school would be very different as well.
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