BELDING, Mich. — We surprised another unsuspecting educator for our next Teacher of the Week. This time, 13 ON YOUR SIDE stopped by Belding Middle School.
After the surprise, Belding Middle School teacher Brie Foy said she was “shocked. All my lights were on. That was the first thing.”
Typically, she keeps the lights off, with the exception of string lights on the ceiling.
Foy said she was encouraged to become a teacher when she was a student with a teacher she says tried to discourage her from pursuing her dreams.
“I was like, well, I’m going to be a teacher now to not be like you. So, that’s kind of what pulled me into teaching,” said Foy.
She says this set the tone for the type of teacher she wants to be for her students.
“The one that tells them they can do whatever they want to do and change the school from being kind of – you have to come and sit all day to let’s sit and hang out but also get stuff done,” said Foy.
Joe Barron is the principal at Belding Middle School and he described his reaction to learning about Foy being chosen as Teacher of the Week.
“Really thrilled. Brie works so hard to connect with students,” said Barron.
Foy explained that every day in class, “We always do good news. It’s probably most of our favorite part of the day. If we forget about it, it’s like ‘wait, where’s the good news?’ Or some want to do it before we do our warm up because they just have something really good to tell.”
“Students talking is so important. They want to be heard and the more talking that they can, on task, and getting to know each other it helps them build a culture within the classroom that goes beyond the books,” said Barron.
After this surprise good news, this teacher says it doesn’t take much to brighten the day of your favorite educator.
“Just even a smile, or a high five in the hallway. I always like that,” said Foy.
Barron added that, “We’ve got to continue to pay it forward with kindness.”
If you have someone you’d like to nominate as our next Teacher of the Week, just text the word “teacher” to 616-559-1310.
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