The National Teachers Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018 filled the airwaves on KVOE’s Talk of Emporia on Wednesday.
The passion and dedication of the five inductees was readily apparent from the opening question of what their individual announcements were like all the way through their closing comments on Friday’s official inductions and what that experience will be like.
Each educator had a unique path to their upcoming inductions. For Bradley Upshaw, a second- and third-grade teacher from Tarzana, Calif., his path originally had him as a potential actor. However, he says he “was hooked” once he got into a classroom.
Connie Bagley, a retired dyslexia educator from San Marcos, Texas, was six years old and preparing for a trip to the San Antonio Zoo — right about the time her parents were moving to another town.
Teaching provides daily challenges — and daily joys, according to high school English language arts teacher Jeff Baxter of Leavenworth. His thought: never give up on a student because there will be a positive outcome.
Peggy Jackson, an AP government and history teacher from Moriarty, N.M., said nothing compares to the Hall of Fame honor.
Maureen Murphy-Foelkl, a K-5 environmental science teacher from Salem, Ore., says it’s surprising how many former students will reach out — and that was before she was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee.
The inductees are part of a special roundtable discussion Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, they will be part of the official rededication of the National Memorial to Fallen Educators, taking place at 2 pm and airing live on 14 KVOE, 96.9 FM and KVOE.com. The rededication leads to the annual Municipal Band concert, with the music starting at 8 pm at Fremont Park. The induction banquet is at 5:45 pm Friday, with the formal inductions beginning shortly after 7 pm from Emporia State’s Webb Hall.
Find the audio from Wednesday’s Talk of Emporia online in the KVOE.com Audio Vault.
