Math set to music or other subjects accompanied by a bit of
drama are just a few of the secrets in Debbie Wright Tawney
’s bag of teaching tricks when she takes center stage in her
second grade classroom at El Toro Elementary.
Math set to music or other subjects accompanied by a bit of drama are just a few of the secrets in Debbie Wright Tawney’s bag of teaching tricks when she takes center stage in her second grade classroom at El Toro Elementary.
Tawney was honored Saturday night as Educator of the Year in the annual Chamber of Commerce Showcase awards night.
With her varied background, Tawney is able to draw on many resources to keep her students excited about learning. After 15 years working for Hewlett-Packard as a marketing manager, Tawney realized how much she enjoyed her training responsibilities, her work for the company with Junior Achievement, as well as organizing events. She left the company to start her own business, called The Wright Event.
“While doing my business, I decided to go back to school to earn my teaching credential,” she said. “I realized how much I loved being in the classroom with those (Junior Achievement) kids.”
Tawney already had a graduate degree in business.
After gaining her teaching credential, she worked for 10 years with Santa Clara School District, then moved to what was then the Morgan Hill Country School, now Oakwood. There, she put her interest in fine arts to work as the middle school drama and theater arts teacher. Tawney left MHCS to become the business director for the new Tutor Time daycare center.
“That was great, but I found I really missed the teaching,” she said. So, in August 2002, Tawney joined the El Toro staff as a sixth grade teacher. But that year there were staffing difficulties, and Tawney was shifted into a fifth-sixth combo class, then taught fourth grade for a year.
“Then I was caught up in all the layoffs that were going on in the district, and was told I needed to move into second grade,” she said. “Which, it turns out, has been really good.”
Kim Johnson-Lao, parent of second-grader Austin, said she is very happy Tawney moved.
“Last year, he was having a little difficulty, and someone told me I should try to get him into Mrs. Tawney’s class,” she said. “She is helping him to work at his own level, and he is succeeding so well. He was recently named “Student of the Month because of how much he has improved. And I know a lot if it is because of her. Her teaching has really helped him to gain confidence in his abilities.”
Johnson-Lao, who volunteers in the second-grade classroom, said she is amazed at the kinds of things Tawney has the children doing.
“They are working on their multiplication tables,” she said. “And she is helping them to learn keyboarding, teaching them the basics of the keyboard. She’s really doing exceptional things with those kids. And because of her interest in the arts, she’s exposing them to a lot of things some of them might not otherwise know about.”
One of her projects has been to start an after-school dance classes.
Charging only a $10 registration fee, Tawney geared the program to anyone who was interested, but particularly those who might not be able to afford dance studio classes.
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, the El Toro multipurpose room reverberates with the tapping feet and enthusiastic movements of more than 30 kids learning tap and 50 or so learning jazz.
“I love this because I can see them blossom,” she said. “I can see their self-esteem grow, I can see how much fun they’re having, how happy they are.”
The dancing kids don’t only learn the dances: Tawney teaches them the importance of stretching before they begin and teaches them about posture, movement and breathing.
A California native, Tawney has three brothers, three stepchildren, three grandchildren and one on the way. Her mother, who died in September, was an inspiration for her in many ways, she said, but certainly in starting the dance classes. Her mother was a dancer, and Tawney fondly remembers her help and support when she first had the idea to start the classes while in Santa Clara.
Tawney’s love of the arts extends beyond the classroom. She has acted in many local theater productions, and is currently in the Saratoga Drama Group’s production of “South Pacific.” She said that the thought of teaching at first made her nervous, until a friend pointed out that her acting abilities could help.
“In some ways, it is like playing a role,” she said. “It’s more than just a job. I become a teacher.”
Tawney credits her husband, also a teacher, with providing key support for her projects. She and he took a group of 30 fourth and fifth grade students to Williamsburg, Va., and Washington, D.C., during the summer.
“It was amazing to see it all through their eyes,” she said.
One thing that is always in the back of her mind as she is teaching, Tawney said, is that limitations are sometimes imposed on children by adults.
“Someone told me once that children will rise to your expectations,” she said. “People will say, ‘They can’t do that” or, ‘You’re expecting to much.’ But I’ve found they are wrong, and you have to let children know what you expect, and most of the time, they can do it.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at md****@mo*************.com or phoning (408) 779-4106.
