Ms. Goodman; New Teacher of the Month!

Ali Parkhurst, Reporter

Each month, the Waterloo Community School District celebrates three to four teacher out of the entire district as the New Teacher of the Month. To qualify as a New Teacher of the Month, you must be within your first two years with the WCSD. In her second year at West, Ms. Goodman teaches a variety of English classes including Children’s Literature, Journalism, Creative Writing, English 10, and is the advisor for yearbook and the very first online newspaper. Goodman received her New Teacher of the Month certificate Tuesday, October 19th. 

So many students at West High have been impacted by the light that comes out of room 309. Junior Seayea Joseph said “Ms. Goodman deserves this award because she always makes sure her students feel heard and she always gives them courage and confidence to finish their work even when they are giving up.” Joseph has been strongly affected by Goodmans kindness during his time at West and always tells his peers how much he loves her classroom.

Many students at West have been positively impacted by Ms. Goodman, these students were given the opportunity to share their experiences directly to us. Some of these included, “Ms. Goodman is helping me become a better writer and is always there if you ever want to talk. She never chooses one student over the rest; she is there for everybody at any time. She is definitely my favorite teacher I have ever had.”, “Ms Goodman has impacted my life in so many ways, ever since I met her she has been the teacher I want to go to for any problems I have here at West. She has become my comfort teacher here. Her class has helped me grow through school and as a person. She is one of the sweetest people I know and is willing to do so much for her students and is just an overall good human being,” as well as over thirty other student submissions. 

Goodman herself said this award has made her feel special and appreciated, “as cliche as it sounds I feel like teachers always put a lot of time and energy and aren’t always recognized so I always appreciate when the district goes out of their way to recognize teachers.” Goodman says that leaving such an impact on her students is so important to her because “The goal is to make even the slightest impact, so to even just have one student that says I made a positive impact means the absolute world to me”

The impact Goodman has left on her students is nothing short of extraordinary, being a student of hers myself, my entire life and plans for my future have changed since I started working alongside her. Goodman makes her students feel at home in her classroom and finds a way to make learning comfortable and easy to do. She goes out of her way to gain a personal connection with all of her students and has always been one of those teachers who can tell right away when you’re having a bad day and will do whatever it takes to make you feel better. She has taken on the role of a second mother to me and has never failed to make me feel successful and supported in everything I do inside and outside of her classroom. Without Goodman, I would not have found my way onto the newspaper or my love and passion for writing, she is the most deserving teacher I know. On behalf of all of your students, we are beyond proud of you.