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By CHRISTAN M. THOMAS
Kingsport Times News
Kathi Shaffer, Kingsport City Schools 9-12 Teacher of the Year, wants her students to feel at ease in her classroom. Achieving that, she said, all comes down to having respect and keeping a good sense of humor.
“It’s the coach in me,” said Shaffer, a Dobyns-Bennett English teacher who also coaches volleyball at D-B and was named the Tennessee Volleyball Coach of the Year for 2005-2006. “I make my classroom a team, a family, and a safe place to be. … We break down all the barriers, and it’s just us. You can do a lot of learning that way because you’re not being judged. People don’t attack each other verbally. I’m all about respect. I respect people’s differences. I respect people’s opinions — they just have to back it up.
“I have a lot of fun. I was thinking today, ‘I’m serious about life, but I don’t take it seriously.’ I’m not a real uptight person. I enjoy, I have fun, and I make it relaxed.”
Originally from Indiana, Shaffer made her way to Tennessee to attend Milligan College, where she received both her bachelor’s degree and her master’s of education.
A 24-year teaching veteran, Shaffer joined the staff at D-B four years ago. She currently teaches English to freshmen, juniors and seniors, as well as serving as instructor of an ACT preparation course.
Shaffer said she’s known she wanted to be a teacher ever since playing school as a child. She said she’s always loved school and athletics and knew becoming a teacher was a way to work in both.
“I loved to write on the chalkboard,” Shaffer said. “I was in fourth grade and I thought, ‘I want to be a teacher so I can write on the chalkboard.’ The irony is, as a teacher, I rarely write on the board and chalkboards are obsolete. I guess I wanted to be a dry erase maker kind of person.”
Both in the classroom and on the court, Shaffer said she tries to pass on the philosophy that “you don’t have to be the best, but you have to be your best in whatever you do.”
The best part about being a teacher and coach, she said, is making a positive influence in a student’s life — by setting a good example and through the words that are said.
“I love knowing that I can make a difference,” Shaffer said. “I love that I get up every day and know that I can change somebody’s life. … I had a teacher change my life with one sentence. She told me ‘You are the only one who doesn’t know how smart you are.’ It changed my whole life because I felt smart from that second on. Knowing that you have that ability is just exciting.”