Educator of the Week: Jodi Duncan

It’s time to recognize this week’s Educator of the Week, brought to you by the Tennessee Education Lottery.

Jodi Duncan has been teaching at Westover Elementary School for over seven years now.

“I teach science and social studies, and I tell my students all the time that I’m the luckiest of their teachers because I have the two best subjects,” Duncan said.

Duncan tries her best to educate her 8th grade class for the real world.

“I really started to see the value in teaching our youth about the history of our country and citizenship, and what it means to be an educated citizen,” Duncan said.

Duncan says making their content relatable isn’t very hard.

“It’s the same issues we read about in our textbook that went on in the 1800s that are still going on today,” Duncan said.

But the job can be difficult with the many teaching limitations.

“Limitations that we have on that amount that we have to teach and how deep we can go, versus how deep I wish I could go into some of the topics,” Duncan said.

Duncan says being a teacher wasn’t always the plan, but she’s glad it’s where she ended up.

“I really like to learn, and I like being an influence in kids’ lives,” Duncan said.

That’s why the relationships Duncan builds with her students are so important.

“When my students get older and I can see what they’re doing or what happens after college. Because I’ve been teaching long enough to see that. It’s really inspiring,” Duncan said.

Duncan is now eligible for the Tennessee Education Lottery Educator of the Month award.

To vote for her or any other nominees, go to the Tennessee Education Lottery website.

To nominate an educator for our Educator of the Week award, email us at educator@wbbjtv.com.