Educator of the Week: Dewayne Ervin
It’s time now to recognize our Educator of the Week, brought to you by the Tennessee Education Lottery.
Dewayne Ervin is a high school English teacher at Clarksburg School.
He credits the inspiration behind this career choice to his own teachers growing up.
“I’m the product of excellent teaching and, I’m gonna tell you, I remember all of those elementary and middle school years, and even my high school years, and so I can tell you the name of every teacher who ever taught me,” Ervin said.
Ervin went on to share his favorite part of being an educator.
“Absolutely, the kids,” said Ervin. “The kids and the challenging kids are my favorite part. It’s the kids that, they start at a place where they don’t feel good about themselves, they don’t feel good about what they know and that you can show them that they can and that they can succeed, and that there are a lifetime of choices ahead of them.”
Ervin has been teaching for over three decades.
“One of the things that I have preached for 34 years to these kids is that education is one of the very few things in life that can liberate you from whatever circumstance you’re in,” he said.
Ervin then took a moment to highlight the Hope Scholarship.
“The Hope Scholarship, it lives up to its name. It has given kids an opportunity to attend school after high school that didn’t exist before.”
Ervin describes his teaching style as interpersonal.
“I want them to know that they’re cared about. I want them to know that their lives matter. It’s like, I want them to know that they’re, you know, that they’re going to be heard and seen, and I don’t know, I just try to model that in, I try to model that in my classroom.”
Ervin was surprised and thankful for his nomination.
“I’m stunned. I just, I can’t believe that,” he said. “I’m happy and I’m humbled. You know, when you’ve done this for over 30 years it’s like, I don’t know, I’m grateful.”
Ervin is now eligible for the Tennessee Education Lottery Educator of the Month award.
To vote for him 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.
