It was 8:50 on April 5th. AVID students were gathered in the media center, listening to a guest speaker, when principal Chris Blice walked in. He brought with him a group of Northwood teachers and administrators. They were all there to recognize the 2013 Teacher of the Year: Roddy Story.
“When people started trickling into the library I started wondering what exactly was going on,” said Story. “When they told me, I think I turned red and smiled.”
Watch Mr. Story win the award.
Story has been a social studies teacher at Northwood for five years. He also teaches AVID classes, SAT prep classes and coaches baseball and football.
“He’s very active in our school,” Blice said. “He’s incredible in his classroom, and he’s a great colleague.”
Blice says that the “true significance” of winning the Teacher of the Year award is that it means fellow teachers and administrators consider you “the best in the house.”
Story also finds this acknowledgement the most important part of the prize.
“Knowing that they wanted to recognize me was really where I was flattered,” Story said.
Story knew he wanted to be a teacher since high school, though he considered different options during college.
“Unfortunately, there is societal pressure not to be a teacher [because of] the pay and the demands. So I kind of got away from that initial goal for a while,” Story said.
When he did return to his dream of teaching, his first experiences in the classroom were anything but stereotypical.
“You hear the nightmare stories, but because of the school where I’m lucky enough to teach… I’ve really enjoyed it from day one,” Story said. “They told us in graduate school to not let the students see you smile until Thanksgiving, and I think I lasted about 15 seconds into my first class.”
Story’s enjoyment seems to be rubbing off on his students. Krystal Spivey, a student in Story’s AVID class, describes it as “a big family,” noting that Story “always tells jokes.”
“He’s really nice and understanding, and he teaches so well. He makes everything easier than it seems,” Spivey said. “Everyone loves Mr. Story.”
Story’s teaching philosophies serve to explain the veneration with which many students look to him.
“I think it’s important to mix it up. I think it’s important to let the students know that you care,” Story said.
Judging from the sudden burst of the cheering of students when the announcement was made, Story’s has achieved these goals.
— By Quinn Kerscher
