Name: Byron Lewis IV
Position: USD 501
City/State: Topeka, KS
Class/content area taught: First grade
What you are most excited about with your new career: I am most excited to pour into young people. Content aside, we have the responsibility of teaching our students how to be good people, how to do life. I am honored to be a part of their journey, even if only for a little while.
What you enjoy most about teaching: I love that every day brings something different! I also love all of the routines we have that the kids have taken such a liking to. Every morning, I greet each student with a handshake, high five, or hug; how they want to be greeted is their choice. We eat breakfast in the classroom, so I always assign two student helpers to lay out the breakfast options. Once they are done with that, they are able to get their breakfast first (a perk of being a helper). Students must ask, “May I be excused?” before they can get up to throw away their trash. We also have a lineup song I made up which helps them with getting quiet and ready to transition. They have gotten so good at the song that they’ve asked me to stop singing it with them!
In what ways has your school/district supported you? I grew up going to schools in the district I currently serve (Topeka Public Schools). So when I student taught for this same district, they made it very clear they wanted to hire me after graduation. I graduated this past December, and was fortunate enough to land a job starting in January. Taking over a class mid-year is a huge learning curve, but it has been an absolutely amazing start to my teaching career!
Ways KSU especially helped prepare you for your new career: There is no one thing that totally prepared me. It’s a culmination of everything I was blessed to be a part of during my time at K-State. The friendliness of the advising office always made me feel safe and supported. Call Me MISTER gave me other men of color who were working towards the same goals. The Kansas Advanced Teacher Academy (KATA) allowed me to work with and mentor high schoolers who also wanted to become teachers. Summer STEM gave me the chance to do hands-on projects with middle schoolers. It was these opportunities and so many more that all fit together in preparing me to become a teacher.
Are there specifics about your background that make teaching the perfect fit for you? I worked as a paraeducator for three years at Bluemont Elementary, and I feel like that was an invaluable experience. The community of people at that school are among the best! I learned so much about teaching, how to deal with different types of students, and myself. I am so thankful for the time I spent there working with those amazing staff and students.
Suggestions/encouragement for new teachers: Something that I always tell my students is that we are here to take care of each other, but you also have to take care of yourself. In the midst of teaching them that, as a new teacher myself, I realized I was also talking to me. But, I truly believe this applies to any teacher–take care of each other, love each other, be kind to each other, but also do all of those things for yourself. We were put on this Earth to take care of each other, but you can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of you!
Other thoughts: I have a group of 5th graders who come in and act as class helpers. That has been so neat to watch unfold. My 1st graders get to hear and learn from someone other than me, and those 5th graders rise to the occasion! It teaches them responsibility and gives them leadership roles while giving my 1st graders something to look forward to. They’ve even started doing the call and answer responses that I use to grab the 1st graders’ attention. Watching the “upperclassmen ” step up and help teach my younger ones is one of the many reasons I love teaching.
