I’ve been interviewing local educators since we introduced our daily spotlights and I’ve got to say, the ones in our coverage area are shining examples of what makes a good teacher.

It was during an interview with Springwood School’s Ann Thomas that I realized that all the teachers I’d spoken to since moving here shared one trait, excitement for the job.

I grew up in the 90s and graduated high school in 2003. Most of my teachers, with a few exceptions, acted bored to be there. I even had one, a social studies teacher named Mr. Stuart, that let us use our books during tests and even told us what page we could find the answers on. I had some pretty bad teachers.

But talking to educators here has shown me that my experiences are an outlier, an aberration more than the norm.

Ann Thomas told me she loved seeing the excitement in a student’s eyes when they mastered a challenge.

LaFayette High School’s Michael Floyd said he has learned just as much from the students and they have from him.

West Point Elementary School’s Bryan Wallace was glad to be teaching the kids of some of his previous student and took pride in seeing the next generation come up.

These teachers and others are proof that education can be a rewarding and exciting career if one puts the time and effort into it.

With any luck we’ll continue to see more people going into this field.