OWENS CROSS ROADS, Ala. — This teacher we're about to meet has a little twinkle in her eye. You'll soon see it's more than the Christmas joy that gets her excited about teaching. It's in her blood! Meet this week's top teacher from Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary School, Tamara Grasham!
Teaching is a birthright for Grasham. “My mom says I was certified in the womb; because she was a teacher, and my grandmother was a teacher and both my aunts were teacher.”
Grasham comes from a long lineage of educators. “My mom retired as a principal at Morris Elementary.,” she said.
She's been teaching for ten years. On this particular day, the students were having a Christmas party, however for Grasham, everyday is Christmas when she’s with her kids.
For her it’s the most rewarding. “They’re the future … It’s the Whitney Houston song. I do, I believe the children are our future. It’s just important to touch their lives every single day,” said Grasham.
Just like her mom invested in her, she’s invested in them.
“I’m protective of them. I had a student from Ukraine last year, and they came to test her, and the lady was funny because I didn’t want to let her go. I was like, ‘where are you taking her?’ ‘Where are you taking her?’”
Her principal, Jennifer Douthit, is a witness to Grasham’s special attention to her children. “She loves with her whole heart, and she works so hard. She cares about every single child in his or her education. She gets to know every single child,” said Douthit.
Gresham says every single child is her own.
"My mom told me a long time ago, once they make your class list you may as well have birthed them and I do, I feel like they're my children. We handle situations. I try to you know, prepare them for the future, and yeah. Those are my kids."
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