Teacher of year loves to blaze trail for students

By Tessa Roy
Posted 6/8/17

Ann Bannon is Warwick’s Teacher of the Year, a title she wishes she could share with many of her co-workers.

“Getting this is kind of like, I know 30 more teachers that could sit right here …

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Teacher of year loves to blaze trail for students

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Ann Bannon is Warwick’s Teacher of the Year, a title she wishes she could share with many of her co-workers.

“Getting this is kind of like, I know 30 more teachers that could sit right here and talk to you right now that I’m in awe of at all times,” said the Hoxsie fourth grade teacher in an interview at the school on Tuesday.

District Teachers of the Year are chosen after districts nominate a delegate and the state chooses from that pool for their nomination.

Bannon said she’s “truly humbled” by the honor but is still adjusting to the attention – she’s not used to making her career about herself.

“You love kids, or you wouldn’t do this. It’s all about the kids, in front of you, and you’ve got 180 days to get it right. So when you think of yourself, it’s never about you,” she said. “It’s about what are you going to do for these little people in the time you have them, and how can you make them successful in a global perspective for the next teacher?”

Bannon is a veteran of Warwick schools and has teachers in her family “here, there and everywhere.” Her mother was a high school teacher, and she recalled helping her aunt set up her classroom when she was young.

“It’s been a passion since I was a child. I loved playing school thanks to my aunt,” she said.

In her own classroom, Bannon has some unique methods of teaching, and wants kids to “be able to look forward to coming to school, not go ‘oh God, another day.’” She utilizes acronyms to help students remember their states and capitals and said some come back to her after they’ve moved on to junior high school and tell her they can still remember them all with no problem thanks to these acronyms. Bannon loves hearing from students or parents who tell her their children are successful because of something she did.

“It’s rewarding to see kids being successful and thinking I might have played a bit of a part in it,” she said.

Also unique about her classroom is the playing of a semi-real life version of “Oregon Trail,” where she groups her students up into families that “travel” along the trail and meet obstacles along the way – her room has a map and drawings of horse-drawn wagons hung from various spots on the ceiling. It’s a discreet way of teaching her students history, as they will research events or landmarks in areas along the trail as well as more of their states and capitals in states that are on the trail.

“They don’t even know they’re learning the rest of the states and capitals because they think it’s all about Oregon,” she joked.

Bannon and her teaching methods have clearly been noticed – Hoxsie Principal Gary McCoombs said he “couldn’t think of a more deserving teacher” to nominate for Teacher of the Year. He said she has a “growth mindset” and willingness to try new technologies and initiatives, which helps to make her a leader in the school.

“Mrs. Bannon is one of the most dedicated and professional teachers I’ve ever met in my whole life…She loves the kids from the bottom of her heart,” he said.

When she’s not teaching, Bannon likes to spend time with her family. She has three children of her own as well as grandchildren. She’ll finish her 29th year of teaching once this school year ends and thinks retirement could be on the horizon following her 30th. As she looks to the future, Bannon said she aims to continue doing what she loves.

“Just doing all of the things I enjoy doing and not worrying about all the little things…I’m thinking that’s my plan,” she said.

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