Emily Grammer

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher a second career. I strongly felt that I wanted to help influence our society in a profound way, by helping students learn the skills of critical thinking, investigating source bias, and proving their ideas with evidence from reliable text sources. I also knew that, for most young people, having one non-family adult who is heavily invested in their success can be a huge predictor for better long-term life outcomes. I felt that I could be that adult for them.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My students write a personal narrative as their last writing assessment for me. I have heard many tales of murdered best friends, border crossings, not having enough to eat, abusive or negligent guardians, and sexual assault. A student (now graduated) recently wrote for me about witnessing a murder in her home country, while her family was out on a picnic at a local lake. This experience caused their need to flee the country and become undocumented refugees in the USA.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would put it toward one of my pet projects, which is assisting students in accessing legal driving status in our county. Many of my students have their first encounters with the law, and get into "the system", because they are driving without a license. When I asked them why they would do that, they pointed out that the process to obtain a license in our county is years-long, and required financial and parental support that is not available to all of them.