The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.-- William A. Ward
Denise Story may be the first graduate in the general physics concentration, but Stacey Thomas will guarantee that she won't be the last. And like her predecessor, Stacey plans to convert her undergraduate education into a teaching career, a move inspired by her own positive experience at Science Hill High School in Johnson City.
"My physics teacher was great," she said. Although his name is L.G. Smith, "we never called him Mr. Smith," she said. "We always called him 'L.G.'"
For Stacey, now a UT junior, learning the hows and whys of the universe in the simplest of events, like a pencil dropping to the floor, was addictive. She even took an AP physics class with a crew of like-minded students.
"It wasn't something that you had to take," she said. "It was something that you could take."
Although she's heard the horror stories that go along with teaching-poor state support, low salaries, difficult kids-she hasn't let them dampen her enthusiasm. She visits "L.G." regularly and, with a grin, said she wouldn't be opposed to going back to Science Hill High as a physics teacher should he decide to move on to new adventures one day.
"It would be fun to teach somewhere near where I grew up," she said, adding that being near her family would be one reason for her to stay in Tennessee after graduation.
Wherever her career may take her, there is no doubt that teaching is going to be part of her future.
"I don't remember most of the doctors who've helped me or the guest lecturers I've heard," she said. "But I can say that I do remember every teacher I've ever had and I want to have that kind of impact on someone."
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