Teacher Spotlight Sponsored by COUNTRY Financial
The OSSAA & COUNTRY Financial are teaming up to recognize the efforts of educators and coaches/advisors who go beyond the call of duty to positively impact the lives of Oklahoma high school students inside and outside of the classroom.
Lisa Tackett, an AP calculus and assistant athletic director at Bethany High School, is November’s honoree…
Current teaching role & some history of your teaching career.
This is my 38th year as a teacher. I was at Kingston the first two years and the rest have been at Bethany. I am currently teaching AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, AP Precalculus and Pre-AP Geometry. I am the assistant athletic director, gifted and talented for HS, mathematics department head and senior class sponsor.
What is the most rewarding part of being a teacher at your school?
I find the greatest reward after students graduate. It comes when you are invited to their weddings. The email that lets you know how college is going or later when you get the college graduation announcement. When you see them at a store and they introduce you to their friends or significant others as one of their favorite teachers. When they tell their younger siblings to take my class and pay attention. Just this weekend at a cross country meet a former student brought his entire family over to meet me and Facetimed his dad that I used to teach with just so I could say hi.
What are some ways you continue to motivate your classroom and students?
My motto is to leave my classroom a better mathematician each day than when you entered. I also tell them we will not succeed at this goal every day. Sometimes we just have an off day. However, we still come in the next day and try again. I would never ask my students to work harder than I do. I model by example. I set high expectations for myself and for them. Last year I set a goal that all 27 of my AP Precalculus students would pass the AP exam and we did it! I am a realist and even though I have high standards I know what we are capable of and make goals accordingly.
Share your best teaching story or memory.
With my lengthy career it is hard to have just one. A consistent theme that has run throughout my career is this. Everytime I have thought about a different career path or considered lowering my standards to reduce angry parent emails that day is when a text, email, gift or personal encounter happens. Sometimes it is as simple as thanks for what you taught me everyone else failed the first college exam but I got an A. Another one said thanks for being you and never letting me quit. The latest was flowers and the card read “Thank you for helping us find the derivative of success and the intergral of knowledge. We are so greateful for your input into our lives! Love the class of 2018. Two of them are in med school, one programs instruments for surgery, two are engineers, one is finishing grad school in a math area far beyond my understanding, two are nurses, an accountant and 3 others are teachers. It is those things that keep me doing this job and so many stories that are similar.
Who is a mentor that has made a lasting impact on your education or teaching career and why?
Chuck Ladd, I was a first year teacher at Kingston and he had just started working there too. Kids would come to my classroom from his and still be talking about what they learned. They did not want to leave his class. One day I got up the nerve to say to him, “I want to be just like you.” His answer was “Lisa Tackett, you will never be me.” I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. Then he said, “first of all you can only be you, to be successful you have to look at others and take the things they do that will work for you, make them your own. Then he said, you also need to remember you are looking at a seasoned teacher, I have not always been who I am today and I continue to work to be better everyday.” He told me I could not be him but I could become the best version of Lisa Tackett but that it would take lots of hard work. As I headed back to my classroom he finished with “hey kid, I have faith you will make it because of the question you just asked.” Anytime the bell rings and kids are still in their seats not wanting to leave my room I remember his words and I still strive to get better each day.
Give an example of how you have best felt supported in your education career.
September 2023 I missed a few days of school with what I thought was a stomach bug. It turned out to be cancer. I missed the next 5 months of school battling it. Throughout the journey it was the staff, students and Bethany community that supported me every step of the way. They provided anything I needed and most of all never let me feel like I was not still a part of BPS. It was my greatest fear that I would never return to the classroom. Thankfully, I am in remission and returned as soon as my oncologist would allow me. I taught part time from March on that year and have returned to all of my duties in the fall of 2024. The question below asks if I coach a sport. I have in the past but I am currently our assistant activities director. You will find me at all of our activities either making sure things are running smoothly or just supporting kids. My love of sports and the fine arts is better served this way as I can be where are students are! Photos are me ringing the bell after finishing chemo wearing a XC state championship and me with two football players after a game. It was hard to select just one photo of me with athletes after a game. I have many!
Read about previous Teacher Spotlights by COUNTRY Financial: https://ossaaillustrated.com/teacher-spotlight-sponsored-by-country-financial-2/
