Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The Teacher Effect


If you ever had a Wharton County Junior College instructor who made a difference in your life, now’s the time to publicly say thanks.
A new program – entitled “The Teacher Effect” – will provide alumni and current students with the opportunity to highlight the role a particular instructor played in their life. The purpose is to draw attention to those dedicated educators who oftentimes get overlooked, said Amanda Heard, the college’s Internet Marketing Coordinator and overseer of the project.
“Everybody had at least one teacher that had some kind of impact on them and we want to hear those stories,” Heard said. “There are so many unsung heroes out there. This is the acknowledgment teachers deserve but so seldom get.”
Students will share their stories by filling out an online form. The forms are currently posted on the college’s website – www.wcjc.edu – and a link is also provided on the WCJC Facebook page. Stories can also be emailed to Heard at: hearda@wcjc.edu
The stories must focus on a past or present WCJC instructor who taught at one of the college’s four campuses: Wharton, Bay City, Sugar Land or Richmond. The Office of Marketing and Communications will review submissions and determine which instructors will be featured.
The program began on March 31 and will run for the next few weeks. Heard is hoping for great participation. She believes it’s important to recognize the life-changing impact teachers can have. Her personal experience with an instructor who was particularly encouraging was the driving force behind “The Teacher Effect” concept.
“There’s some gems out there who deserve recognition,” she said. “It’s time for us to highlight those heroes among us.”
She further noted that WCJC instructors continue to garner a positive impact on the surrounding community. The college held its first classes in 1946.
“We are really proud of the faculty we have at the college. Many of our instructors have worked here for more than 20 years, which means a lot of lives have been positively touched,” Heard said. “There are instructors here who have made a huge difference, not just with one student but with generations throughout our community.”