Buena Suerte Wilma, la professora del ano

Today was a surreal day, it is hard to believe that almost a year has passed since I was named the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year but today I was privileged to attend the luncheon honoring the 2011 Teacher of the Year, Floris Wilma Ortiz!
Being Massachusetts Teacher of the Year has been a journey along a road that was sometimes wide and straight, and sometimes narrow and crooked. The road often diverged and I was constantly deciding which one I should take. The well marked road or the dusty unmarked path? This year I chose to follow Ralph Waldo Emerson’s advice, “Do not follow where the path might lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” It takes courage to go off the path but I learned that if you do your voice gets stronger. I have become a better teacher this year.

Wilma, I hope you will treasure every minute of what lies ahead of you. Today as you begin your own journey I hope that you, too, will make a new path because despite all of the stress and pressures placed on teachers, there is still room for imagination, creativity and innovation because you and I believe, as do all teachers of excellence, that each and every child can and will learn and grow. Poverty, hunger, broken families, disabilities, language barriers - all are challenges to learning, but all of these challenges can be overcome by effective teaching. I hope our paths will cross in future travels. Leave your own trail, Wilma, make a new path. Buena suerte!